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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25542052">Ikinimaya (Staircase To Heaven)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bambina_Rose/pseuds/bambina_Rose'>bambina_Rose</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar (2009)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 09:48:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>45,204</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25542052</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bambina_Rose/pseuds/bambina_Rose</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Ma’am, this world has done nothin’ but break me down and take from me right from the start. I’ll take my chances with Pandora. Besides, I’ve wasted 16 years on this piece of shit rock. What’s 10 plus on a planet I’ve never been on?” 16 year old Céleste Lacouronne Sully is a certifiable genius. With her 3 degrees and her love of taking on a challenge, she follows her older brother Thomas Sully to the testing site of Avatar Program. For most of her life, she's done what she could to make a difference to the world she lived in, without much success. To her delight, she gets the chance to make a difference on a new world, Pandora, and she'll know just how big of a difference she can make.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at’ite/Jake Sully, OC/OC</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue Pt. 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This work was inspired by a few other Avatar fics I've read, heavy influence from "A Pale Blue Light", "Eywa's Will", "Clouds on the Horizon" as well as a few others, I'll plug them in as I go along. I'm pulling bits and bobs from those as well as working off of the original and theatrical script. I'm mostly posting this for myself as there's themes in here that pertain to the main character who, to an extent, is an extension of me and my life, and my view of the world. (Translation: Quarantine's been tough and this is me validating my hyper-fixation on this movie cause it's (tbh) a really good movie.) It's a slow burner: the prologue's in 2 parts, there's a .5 chapter that's basically the main beginning sequence of the movie, both are quite long because I'm building up relationships between the characters, and I'm trying to establish the main character's point of view on the state of the planet, and of Pandora. It'll be a slow buildup to the main fight since it's mostly the main character and her love interest and not Jake that we're focusing on. However I will have third person POV moments scattered throughout the story to give insight to Jake's mind. Bold font indicates past moments, flashbacks, italicized means someone's speaking in a different language, be it Na'vi or a human dialect. Anyway, just to say it again, this a work FOR ME but I would like to share it cause I like where it's going. Hope you enjoy.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The year is 2129. The deforestation and subsequent extinction of the remaining animals on Earth has begun the planet's descent into the grave. The population of humans has topped at 18 billion. The air is so polluted it's not recommended to go outside without a mask, the waters are filled with toxic waste from big factories, and the onslaught of war and death that continues for the 1%’s pocket expansion takes its toll on the people and the planet alike. It’s misery at its best. It’s the 7th layer of Hell at its worst. In what used to be New Orleans; home to swinging jazz bands, Mardi Gras parades and the many esoteric, voodoo shops that lined the streets, is now a wasteland. The natural disasters and exploitation that rocked the once great Crescent City have turned it into a desolate place, one that many prefer to avoid. The streets are littered with rubble, garbage, various broken bottles of whatever alcohol was left in a storage room, and people. Few can manage to keep money in their pockets, having to provide food and clothing for those they love, they don't have enough money to buy a house. So people live on the streets, underneath ancient awnings and hollowed out buildings to escape the acrid rain, the blinding sun and the dust storms that come through the town. On a particularly sweltering day, a couple makes their way through what used to be the old French Quarter. They murmur to themselves, pitying the poor souls who’ve had the “unfortunate luck” to be stuck in their situation.</p><p>A commotion in a ruined building to the left drew their attention, as they approached they gaped at the scene before them. A little black girl, no more than 3 maybe 4 was fighting another child, a little boy, for a scrap of clothing. The girl was quick, trying to trip the boy into a pile of debris, but he was quicker, and he pushed her into the debris with a grunt. She landed in the pile groaning as the boy scampered away. The couple looked at each other, unsure of how to proceed from this point when the little girl rose from the debris. She held her head as she sat up, groaning from the pain and the blinding light of the sun that beat down on her mercilessly. She sighed as she felt hunger grip her stomach. She had no idea how long she’d been without food, much less a proper shirt and shorts. ‘Guess I’ll have to look elsewhere..’ She thought to herself, picking up her dignity and her seemingly dwindling will to continue, vowing to get that boy back should he ever cross her path again. She hadn’t noticed the strange couple walking up to her until their shadows covered her from the sun. She scrambled away, startled at the closeness of these random adults. “Get back! Get away! Leave me alone!” The couple was taken aback, such a big voice for a little body. “Shh.. It's okay.. We’re not gonna hurt you.” The woman came from behind her spouse, her voice soft and soothing. “We just want to know where your parents have gone-” “I don’t have parents.” The girl said defiantly, much to the shocked (and yet not surprised) faces of the couple before her. “What happened to them..?” Said the man.</p><p>“I..” The girl's face dropped from its scowl, kicking a can next to her only to have it come rolling back. “I don’t know where they’ve gone.. I just know I woke up here.. I’ve been here ever since..” She sighed looking out over the churning black river water. She wondered to herself what it would’ve been like hundreds of years ago. She turned to the two strangers as they whispered to each other, giving her a moment to examine them. They were covered in neutral colored clothing, and had head wraps of some sort to protect them from the sweltering heat of the afternoon, which had already made her sweat through her rags. From what little skin she could see underneath they were white people, and she mentally grimaced. You’d think racism and the like would be water under the bridge by the 22nd century, but history seems doomed to repeat itself, no matter the time frame...</p><p><b>“Hey! Excuse me! Can you help me?” The girl walked up to a circle of white people, their huddled group drunkenly bickered amongst themselves up until they spotted her. Silence followed as she watched them, hungered, tired, unfocused gazes laid upon the girl, “Yeah? What’d’ya want kid?” Said a gruff voice from the group. “Um, I was wondering if you have seen my parents..? I woke up over there just now and I don’t know where they’ve gone..” Her voice got quieter by the minute as they scowled and glared at her. </b> <b>“Look kid, we’ve all got our own problems, yeah? Go find your deadbeat parents somewhere else.” Said a man in the back. And with that, another few glares from the group and she made her exit, not wanting to stay longer. She scampered along, hiding on the second floor of an old collapsed masquerade shop. The torn masks and dulled feathers covered the floor, dusty, dirty, and hadn’t been touched in years. She looked around the room, crumbling and left to rot. She sighed, wondering why those people shunned her, couldn’t bother to at least give her a clue. She sat by what was left of a window and wondered.</b></p><p><b>Until, she noticed she could hear some people talking from her perch and when she peeked out of the window, she saw it was the group from before, and they weren’t but a few feet away. It didn’t help that they weren’t quiet in the first place, their intoxicated stupors showing through their slurred voices. “D’you think we should’ve helped her? She didn’t look more than 3-”  “So what if some brat lost their parents? We’ve all lost somebody because of this fucked up government, these fuckin' idiots in office with big bucks in their pockets, not caring bout the people who have to work to death just to make some-hell not even-a FEW ends meet.. So what if some blackie lost her parents? She’ll need to learn that this world isn’t kind to anyone, not even the smallest child.” </b> <b>Silence fell over the group. And in that moment, as she watched the fading afternoon sun sink into the horizon, watching the dying light douse the room in glaring yellow and her skin a molten tawny color, the only thing she could think to think of was why the man called her “blackie” when clearly her skin was brown.</b></p><p><b> It wasn’t until a few hours later; when she’d felt it safe to leave the building under the cover of dusk and shadows, while she wandered her new surroundings, the old Quarter gave her an empty feeling. Long abandoned, derelict shop fronts and restaurants stared at her, empty doorways and windows gaping at her, their dark deserted insides putting a chill to her bones. </b> <b>Until she stumbled upon what looked like a mystics abode. The candle light from inside drew her in, the only living building in the square. As she crossed the threshold her tiny body gave a shudder, something about the atmosphere set her insides on high alert. She felt the energy in her body tense like a coil ready to spring as she took in the unfamiliar surroundings. Animal skulls and poppets hung from the ceiling, jars of age-old spices, things floating in mysterious liquids in jars, books, candles, and incense burners lined shelves and the floor.However, she made note that unlike the outside; the air here didn’t smell of toxic pollution and dirt, it smelled of old smoke, perfumed, heady and left to hang in the air from the last time someone lit an incense. Or, from the last time someone found such a thing. (they stopped making incense in the early 2100s when they ramped up production of turning natural materials to fuel and things). </b></p><p>
  <b>As she walked further in, greedily breathing in the air, fascinated by the things around her, she suddenly felt a presence in the room with her. She whipped around, “Who-who’s there?.. Come out please..” She felt the presence bounce all over the room, until it seemed to be right next to her- “BOO!” Said a voice, making the girl jump out of her skin with a shriek. She jumped back, taking in the newcomer with frightened eyes. The stranger was an old woman, her ebony skin wrinkled, her hunched over posture and frizzy white hair gave the girl an impression of a madwoman. But just when the girl was going to make a run for it, the old woman peered down at her with bright green eyes and the girl felt no malice, no anger, no hate emanating from them. The woman chuckled as the girl relaxed a bit. “Now you ask who I am, but you've walked into my shop like it's your own! I think the question that should be asked is who are YOU, dearie?” The woman cocked her head to the side, her sea foam green eyes staring at the girl expectantly. It was in this moment however, that the girl realized she didn’t know her name. She shook her head and sighed, “I don’t remember my name.. Or how I got to this place.. Or where my parents are..” She trailed off, thinking back to the man from the group. “No one I talked to wanted to help me..” Looking up at the woman through tear ladened eyes, “Ca-can you help me..?”</b>
</p><p>
  <b>The woman could see this child’s pain as clear as the nose on her pretty little face. She smiled softly and sat next to the girl, a hand on her cheek, her thumb wiping away her tears. “I will help you child.. We’ll put you on the right path..” The girl didn’t know what she meant by path, or who the “we” was, but she knew she could get help from this old granny. After some food and what little water there was, the girl began to ask questions. Who was the old woman? What was this place? Why are there dolls and skulls hanging from the ceiling? The granny laughed and patiently took each question in its stride. The woman’s name was Rosa, but the girl could call her granny if she wished. The place they were in, was an old witch’s shop, which had been passed down to Rosa after the witch had left town. She told the girl some stories and some things about the shop, making the little one laugh and squeal in delight.</b>
</p><p><b>After a particularly scary story the girl sighed. </b> <b>“What’s wrong, ma chère? What’s got you all mixed up inside..?” Rosa said, lightly tickling the little girls tummy, making her giggle halfheartedly before looking down at herself and frowning. “Granny Rosa..? What’s a.. Blackie..?” The girl looked up at her, seeing the shock on her face. “Where.. Who said that..?” Replied Rosa. “There was a group of people I asked for help when I first woke up.. I listened to them after I left and they said “so what if some blackie lost her parents..” She mumbled to her, leaning into the woman's side and looking at her skin. “Aren’t I brown granny..-?” “Hush now child.. Don’t you listen to them, ignorant idgits. They weren’t white people were they-? Who am I kidding of course it was..” Rosa groaned to herself in disbelief. How could someone say such things about a child? Especially to one so young yet so.. So..</b></p><p>
  <b>Rosa took this moment, and gazed at the little girl, taking in her appearance. She had a big mane of thick curly Q hair, soft looking ringlets of jet brown strands, brown sugar skin, cupid’s bow lips, a little button nose, a beauty mark on her right cheek, and her eyes.. She had never seen a girl with eyes as blue as hers since.. Rosa knew the familiarity in this face.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>“Granny Rosa..?” Rosa shook herself from her trance and sighed, “Listen chèrie, there’s gonna be people in this world who don’t like you.. Some won’t like you because they know you and just don't like you, or they don’t get along well with you. Some won’t like you because they think that you’re better than them. Some.. Some won’t like you because of the color of your skin.. They’ll call you all sorts of names.. Say all types of things.. Simply because they think that the color of your skin makes you less than them.. Do you understand what I’m trying to tell you..?” The girl looked at her, a bit uncertain. “Is that why the white people called me blackie..?” “Yes baby.. They think your skin makes you lower than them. Not every person will, but for the few that will, know that they are in the wrong.” The girl still looked unsure. “Why..?” “Because..” Rosa continued, “Your skin is beautiful. Just as mine is, just as your parents skin, just as every black person’s skin, in every shade under the sun. We’re all beautifully and wonderfully created, and some people are just jealous.” She leaned in, whispering as if to share a secret.</b>
</p><p>
  <b> “They just mad that black don’t crack when old age sets in.” Rosa chuckled, and when the girl understood she laughed too. “Well how old are you granny?” Rosa feigned offense. “Never ask a lady her age!... but if you must know, I’m old enough to be your great grandmother and then some.” The girl gazed at the old sage in awe, wondering if she’ll get to be that old one day.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>As that dusk turned to evening, the stories and questions and laughter continued on, and the candlelight grew dim, Rosa still pondered about the girl. Watching her flip through the books on her shelves, she slipped away to a corner of the store, hidden away by a star studded curtain. Pushing it away and entering the sequestered cushion covered room, she pulled out a deck of cards. Sitting at the makeshift table in front of her she began to shuffle. ‘Who could this girl be.. Why did she feel so.. Familiar..? And why does she look so much like..?’ As cards slipped out of the deck from Rosa’s rapid shuffling, the pictures on the cards showed something akin to an answer, but something was still missing. Studying the cards intently, she asked just one more question as she shuffled again. ‘What is her name..?’ Two more cards came out immediately. Rosa flipped them over and grinned. Having gotten her answers, she thanked the deck and stashed it away.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>The girl was playing with a poppet that Rosa had made a long time ago when she came into the front room. “And just what have you got there..?” The girl turned around with a smile and said, “It looks like me!” Indeed it did. Down to the curly strands and the mole on her face. “I made that a long time ago you know.. Back when I had met a little girl who looked a lot like you..” The girl looked up, surprise and disbelief on her face. “You.. You knew my mama..?” Rosa nodded and sighed. “It was so long ago, I had almost forgotten.. But she came here one day, searching for something just like you did.. She told me she had yet to find what she was looking for last I had seen her.. But, I think.. In fact I just know it now..” She looked down at the girl, her eyes shining like stars in the night sky. “You, ma chére, were the answer..” Rosa placed a hand on her face, watching a smile break through the pain of not knowing where her mother had gone. “Does that.. Does that mean that.. I might find her one day..?” Rosa sighed with a slight shrug, “I’m not sure my dear.. There are many things at play here..”</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Suddenly, a yowl was heard in the shelves behind them, startling the girl. “Wh-What was that?!” She trembled behind Rosa, looking around wildly from behind her. “Now hush up little lovely you’ll wake the babies..” And before the girl could ask, a pair of blue eyes looked at her from the shelf, and a calico cat had stepped out from behind the books. “Mrow?” The orange, black and white cat had questioned the sight of the little human hiding behind her caretaker. The girl's face brightened with childish delight and she whispered, “A kitty..?” Rosa chuckled as the cat bounded down the stack of books and rubbed against the girl's leg, purring like a motorboat.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>“That my dear is Étoile, she’s been my cat for a long time now, and.. well wouldn’t you know it..” Rosa trailed off, peeking around the edge of the bookshelf with a chuckle. “Her babies are just as cute as she is..” The girl ran around the edge of the shelves peering into a little rocking crib at 4 tiny little motley colored kittens. Barely old enough to open their eyes. The girl knelt down and gently rubbed a finger over a gray kitten's head, caressing it so lovingly it made Rosa’s heart ache just the slightest bit. “They’re beautiful..” Said the girl, as tears welled up in her eyes. “Chére? Come here darlin, I wanna show you something..” Rosa shuffled off as the girl pulled herself away from the kittens, Ètoile having laid back down with her kittens for some rest.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>The girl followed the shuffling noises to a dresser that Rosa was currently rifling through. “I know I have it here somewhere, hold on.. Aha!” She pulled out a dusty old book, the hardback covering ripped off of it from years of abuse. “What’s this?” “Open it and see.” Rosa placed the book in front of her, and as the girl flipped through the pages, she gasped lowly to herself. “What is this..? Where are these.. Things..?” “These things you see? Are planets… Stars.. Places so far into the sky you’d need more than a rocket and some fuel to get there. This is outer space.” The girl couldn’t believe the pictures on pages. Stars, so many stars and planets, she never knew there was so much out there.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>“It’s.. It’s so much.. I wanna go there..” She stopped on a page, drawn to it, trying to comprehend the words there.The picture displayed a blue-ish purple sphere, orbited by 3 smaller spheres. “Granny Rosa can you-” “Don’t you worry, I got you covered. This page is talking about a gas giant, a real big planet made of gas and things. It’s name is Polyphemus, and it has 3 moons. They haven’t named the other 2 moons but this one-” Rosa pointed to a slightly larger-than-most moon that looked like Earth back in its heyday.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>“-this one’s name is Pandora.”</b>
</p><p>
  <b>The girl traced the green parts of the moon, seeing-practically feeling how expansive it was. “Do people live on Pandora?” “Mhm. They say a group of people live there, they’re called the Na’vi.” “Na’vi?” Rosa nodded, “Indeed. They say that the Na’vi people are mean, savage brutes, who want nothing to do with humans.” Hearing this didn’t sit well with the girl. “Are the Na’vi really mean people..?” Rosa shrugged. “I don’t know. Pandora’s too far to travel too in my old age.. But you know, they used to say the same thing about black people too..” The girl looked around, taken aback. “They called us savages..?” Rosa nodded grimly. “They called us many things. They did horrible things to our people, and then blamed us for things we had no control of in the first place. They sought to take our motherland from us, and keep us under their thumb. Keep us blind and ignorant to the truth. But we escaped from that, or so we had thought..”</b>
</p><p>
  <b>The sage woman sighed, feeling the fatigue and ache in her old bones. “I don’t know if the Na’vi are truly savage people. But they’re right to not trust us humans. We’re nothing but trouble for ourselves. I can only imagine what those poor souls are being subjected to by the hands of our military and government..” The girl felt a strange pull in her chest, but before she could continue, Rosa had placed a hand on her head and looked her square in the eye. “I think I’ve got it.” The girl shrugged and wasn’t following. Rosa turned around rummaging through another drawer before pulling out an old tiara. “Ma chére, from this day forth, you shall be known as Céleste Lacouronne.” She placed the circlet upon the girls crown of curls and smiled in satisfaction. “There now. A regular princess in the making.” The newly named Céleste could only smile through her joyful tears, beyond ecstatic with her new name and her new friend.</b>
</p><p>‘Safe to say that didn’t last..’ Céleste couldn’t understand the way things played out from that night forward but she realized that the man from the group was right. This world isn’t kind. “Excuse me..? Excuse me dear..” Céleste looked up, putting her past memories on the back burner. “Yes?” She answered, the couple probably need directions or something. “We were wondering.. Well, if you’re okay with it..” The man had stumbled over his words when the woman came a bit closer, much to the wary discomfort of Céleste. “We were wondering if you’d like to come home with us.” Céleste stopped her inner thought process, having been blindsided by this question. “C-you-uh.. What?”</p><p>The couple chuckled a bit at her befuddlement. “Would you like to come stay at our house? We already have 2 boys, but I’m sure they’d love a little sister..” The man nodded, looking at Céleste expectantly. “You don’t have to if you don’t wanna but, we’d hate to see such a spirited young girl like you waste away here. If you’d let us, we’ll take care of you..?” He trailed off, his gruff voice putting a soothing balm over Céleste’s nerves like she hadn’t felt in a while. She looked at these two, wondering what they could get out of taking her into their home.</p><p>‘Well.. They look nice enough.. Beats being here by a mile..’ And if it came down to it, she could always run away. She internally nodded to herself. The decision had been made. “Okay. I’ll go.” The couple smiled at each other, happy to know that she’d come with them. “But first..” Céleste interrupted, crossing her arms in front of her. She let the silence permeate the air, their faces turning a bit uncertain. A soft smile pulls at the corner of her mouth and says quietly, “What are your names?” The couple chuckles, removing their hoods and sunglasses to reveal a lovely looking pair.</p><p>The woman had short brown slightly curly hair that was cut at her shoulders, crystal clear blue eyes and, now that Céleste had a clear view, a warm smile. The man had brown hair as well that was cut around the sides, with a bun crowning the top. He had a well-kept beard and a scar on his cheek, but when he smiled a dimple showed up on both sides. “I’m Alicia, it’s nice to meet you, and this is my husband Eric Sully.” Alicia’s voice was sweet and light, like a spring breeze. “What’s your name little miss..?” The man-Eric, asked. Céleste smiled and walked over to them both, reaching a hand out for a friendly shake. “My name is Céleste Lacouronne. It’s nice to meet you, Alicia, Eric.” They looked at each other and laughed, grappling Céleste in a big bear hug before Céleste had a chance to get defensive. “Welcome to the Sully family Céleste.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Prologue Pt. 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The boy on the left looked up at Alicia, "I thought you got us a puppy!" "I thought you got us snacks." replied the one on the right.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This part of the prologue is giving a bit more backstory. Hope you enjoy.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was clear that when Alicia and Eric Sully brought little Céleste to the train station that there were going to have to be some adjustments. After stopping by their hotel room, getting her cleaned up, hair washed and combed out (to the best of Alicia’s ability), fed, and some comfy clothes for the ride back (it would take a little over 3 days), Céleste had curled up in the compartment and fell asleep. Alicia and Eric however, had things to talk about. “We’ll let her call us whatever she wants for right now, and whenever she’s comfortable, if she ever gets comfortable, then she’ll call us mom and dad.” Alicia was trying to coerce her husband to not have a meltdown, thinking that Céleste calling them by name was a sign of her distrust in the couples intentions. “B-but what if she thinks we’re just.. I don’t know, tagging her along with us..? What if she thinks we’re going to be horrible once the boys come in the picture..? I don’t want her to think she’ll have to fight for a spot-” Alicia pressed a hand to her spouse's mouth, a very stern, ‘hold your horses’ look had come across her face.</p><p>“Now honey, I know this may seem a bit far fetched, but don’t you think she’s got a right to not trust two random people who she met not even 6 hours ago?” She let that question sink in, seeing the childish way his face went from panic to sullen acceptance. Alicia’s hand dropped from his face with a sigh, “Look, I know it’s tough, but she’s not even old enough for kindergarten, and she’s already untrusting of the people in her surroundings. She’s had a rough start Eric, we gotta give her space.” She placed both hands on his slumped shoulder as he relented, a sigh showing he got the point. “I know it’s just.. Seeing her fighting that little boy.. I’d never thought a child’s eyes could look so.. On fire. Especially since her eyes are so blue! Have you ever seen such a shade?” Alicia nodded at her husband’s enthusiasm about their new ward, and couldn’t help but agree. “They’re beautiful. I haven’t seen eyes like that in a long time. They look like.. Like..”</p><p>They pondered, looking for the right word. Finally after a few moments, an ‘aha!’ sparked, and in sync they realized, “They look like the night sky.” They looked at each other, giggling. No matter how many times they finished each other’s sentence, it never got old. “How do you always know what I’m thinking?” “Same way I always know what you want for lunch when you go to work.” “Mind reading?” “No, I just know you, moron.” They laughed good-naturedly at their banter, putting off their worries for a while. What they didn’t know was Céleste had been listening. And as they talked about work, and what to do with the room situations, Céleste slunk back to the compartment as quietly as she’d left it, and snuggled deeper into the bedsheets. With a small tear in her eye, she smiled and heaved a tired sigh. She didn’t know the last time she had slept so good.</p><p>_________________</p><p>They had reached the Sully family home sometime in the afternoon after their train ride. A quaint and modest 2 story cottage, red brick with a chimney and what looked like a lot of windows. “I like spaces with a lot of natural light.” Alicia had said, when Céleste questioned the seemingly odd feature. Walking inside, the atmosphere was cozy; wood flooring, decent sized living room, a book nook with all kinds of things to read, and a nice backyard with a hammock strung between two willow trees. Céleste had never seen such a thing and was quite apprehensive of the idea that this thin, woven piece of.. Whatever it was would be able to hold her up, much less sleep on. As the Sully’s introduced Céleste to what was her new home, they heard a car horn outside.</p><p>“That’d be the boys. Céleste, how about you wait here and check out the books in the book nook? We’ll bring them in here in a second.” Eric suggested. Céleste, stiffening at the thought of her new 2 older brothers, (by a couple months, maybe a year) and nodded gratefully at not having to meet them right at that moment. Alicia smiled sympathetically, arm in arm with her husband, and walking out the door. Céleste sat there for a second, listening to her breath and her pounding heartbeat. Her hands started to get sweaty, and her breathing became short.</p><p>‘It’s fine. I’m fine. They said that I can be comfortable here. They gave me clothes, food, and somewhere to sleep. I can handle 2 other people in the house.’ She thought to herself. She looked in the window at her reflection. Though she looked like a little princess; what with Alicia going all out with a turquoise 2 piece outfit with white trim, her thick mane having been properly washed and somewhat tamed into a bun with a yellow bow (she commended Alicia for tussling with her hair, she did a pretty good job.), and a simple necklace with a blue gem in the middle that they had given her as a gift. Céleste had to admit, she cleaned up nice.</p><p>She looked her reflection in the eye, her cobalt blue orbs shining with nerves and anxiousness. ‘You can do this. You can do this. It’s gonna be okay. Everything’s gonna turn out fine.’ She breathed a big breath and sighed. “Céleste! Céleste honey, come here and meet your new brothers.” Called Alicia from the kitchen. She shuddered at the thought of what was about to happen, but she steeled her nerves and walked out of the nook, into the adjoining hallway, and peeking her head out of the threshold, she saw Alicia and Eric from over the counter. They motioned her over, soft smiles on their faces. She took a deep breath and held her head high as she walked over to the other side of the counter.</p><p>What she hadn’t expected was 2 boys looking like each other. The messy brown hair, chubby cheeks, pale aqua colored eyes. The differences however were subtle; the one on the left took to putting his weight on his left leg, there was the palest of faded scars on his arm, and his ears were slightly bigger than the other. The one on the right was the opposite; weight on his right leg, he had no scars from what Céleste could see, and his mouth was set in what looked to be a tentative smile. When she turned the corner, the shock on their faces was almost too priceless to not laugh at. The boy on the left looked up at his parents, “I thought you got us a puppy!” “I thought you got us snacks.” replied the one on the right.</p><p>Alicia rolled her eyes slightly and went to scold them, when Céleste giggled the tiniest bit. The adults looked at her, as she slowly descended into laughter. The boys looked at each other, and then to her saying in unison, “What’s so funny?” When Céleste calmed down enough to talk she smiled. “Oh nothing. I just think you guys are interesting. That’s all.” The boys shrugged, the adults laughed to themselves, and the boys began introducing one another. “I’m Jacob, but you can call me Jake. And this is my brother Thomas, but we call him Tom.” The one on the left, Jacob-no-Jake had introduced them, the boy on the right-Tom had waved slightly.</p><p>“Nice to meet you. I’m Céleste Lacouronne. I hope we can get along okay.” And from that day on, they were partners-in-crime. When it was just the boys, it was Tom being the brains and Jake being the knucklehead. But with Céleste in the mix, she became the ringleader, leading her new brothers to different places in their backyard; the coast, the seven seas, the ruins of the pyramids. They were fascinated by the way her storytelling came from seemingly deep within her. Her body moved with her words, and her eyes shone with such excitement they couldn’t help but go along with whatever she asked. Her new parents were no better and began doting on her; books of her choosing, new outfits and snacks. She especially loved the blue cat stuffy they had given her for her 4th birthday.</p><p>One day, when all had gone quiet in the house, Jake had laid down for a nap, the parents were upstairs in the study, and all the mischief seemed to be done for the moment, Céleste was watching the hammock through the window. She’d been staring at it everyday since she arrived. “Whatcha lookin at?” Said Tom from behind her, stirring her from her daydreams. “O-oh nothing, just the hammock..” “Yeah it’s fun huh?” Céleste shook her head, “I haven’t laid in it yet.” Tom looked at her, speechless. He stood up from his spot, reached out a hand and said, “Well come on let’s go.” Céleste was hesitant. “But.. What if I fall out of it..?” Tom smiled and said, “If you fall, you get back up.” She took his words to heart, and grabbed her big brother’s hand.</p><p>They approached the hammock, strung between the two trees (which Céleste had deemed her favorite type of tree.) and she became increasingly uncertain about the idea. It wasn’t until Tom hopped in the hammock with ease that she wondered just how impossible this contraption seemed. He patted the spot next to him. “Come on then. You got it.” She nodded tentatively and positioned herself in front of the hammock, reaching behind her and grabbing a hold of it, she hoisted herself onto the hammock with only a little swaying, and sat up next to Tom. She smiled brightly looking at Tom, seeing an equally bright smile on his chubby cheeked face. “See? I told you you could do it. Now, lay down.” Céleste nodded again, slowly laying down to not move the swinging thing.</p><p>Tom laid next to her once she got comfortable, and slowly with the incoming breeze, the hammock began to sway. Céleste slightly stiffened but tried her hardest to relax. Tom, however, was right at home. She looked at him, perplexed at how the motion didn’t startle him the least bit. He looked over at her and said, “You gotta let go of trying to hang on. Just relax.” She thought that wasn’t the most sound advice but gave it a go anyway. She stared up at the dappling sunlight through the willow tree leaves and felt the warmth of the day melt into her bones, she closed her eyes and sighed peacefully. Soon enough, she passed out, Tom curled up next to her, their parents finding them a little bit later, taking a picture and carrying them both in the house.</p><p>___________________</p><p>It was 12 years later, that Céleste wondered to herself if getting involved with the Sully’s was such a good idea. She was being held in a gray room, a one-way mirror with her blue eyed reflection staring indifferently back at her. Internally, she was screaming. She had heard her brother Tom and their parents talking about this Avatar program. The training would take a long time, 10 some odd years. The test just to get considered for a spot was supposed to be harder than hell. ‘Supposed to be.’ She scoffed to herself. Through her love of reading as a child, Céleste had become something akin to a supercomputer. She was a wiz with math and science, and English and creative extracurriculars had become her muses. She was already finishing up her third year of college, triple majoring. But she needed a new challenge. And none of the jobs on this planet offered it to her.</p><p>‘Pandora however..’ She vaguely remembered the name, a memory at the back of her mind tugged at her heart, she knew this name from somewhere. But before she could dig deeper, a woman walked in the door. She was in her early 30s, about 5’4, olive skin, dark brown hair pulled up in a bun, she wore a black pantsuit with a white shirt underneath, and her face reminded Céleste of a shrew. She placed some files on the table and sat across from Céleste, an air of slight irritation about her, gray eyes sharp and alert. “Do you know who I am?” She asked, her voice haughty and shrill. It gave Céleste a headache and she shook her head in response, not wanting to give her more reason to talk unnecessarily.</p><p>
  <span>“My name is Maria Santiago, I work for the RDA as a moderator and evaluator of testees for the Avatar program. Think of me as an intelligence scout.” Céleste couldn’t really tell if she was truly intelligent enough to be an “intelligence scout” of any sort but she’d played along, what else could she do? “How did you hear about the program?” “My brother, he’s been talking about it to our parents for a couple years now.” She nodded, “And your brother is..?” “Thomas Sully.” She flipped through her files, searching.. Searching.. Searchi- “Aha, Mr. Sully..” She read through his rapport, her face going through several expressions before looking back up at her.</span>
</p><p>“And your name is..” “Céleste Lacouronne.” She sifted through the papers again, stopping and checking what must’ve been her rapport. Her face this time was unreadable. And Céleste could read people like the books at the nook back home. “Tell me Céleste, what is it you want out of doing these tests? You know people can only do the training if they’re 18.” Céleste nodded. “I’m well aware. However, I heard from Thomas that the test was hard and I had to give it a shot. Just to see if I could do it.” Ms. Santiago looked at Céleste with another infuriatingly neutral look and put the files down, elbows on the table, laced her hands together and laid her chin on top to stare her down.</p><p>“I’ll be frank Ms. Lacouronne. You’re 16 years old and you shouldn’t be here. You fudged an ID good enough to get in to take the test, but when we put your name through the system you came up on your college’s website. You’re in your 3rd year and triple majoring. And playing sports? And theater?” ‘Suck my dick some more why don’t you?’ Céleste thought with an inner smirk. Her face was passive. “It’s bad enough you’re the youngest person to take the test. You took the test and aced it. No mistakes. That’s not supposed to be possible. And yet we make sure everyone is being fair by taking electronics, checking for drugs, the works.” Céleste was getting tired of all this talking. She really wanted this woman to get to the point. She supposed the woman could tell her lack of patience was shining through, from the way she sighed and sat back in her chair, rubbing her temples tiredly.</p><p>“I say all this to say yet again, you shouldn’t be here. Not only would you not be considered for a spot, but I would be obligated to let your parents and your institution know that you lied on a government test. I would send you home… However, I’ve been informed by the head scientist on Pandora to let you into the program regardless of this, because these aren’t normal circumstances..” She said begrudgingly. The head scientist? Can’t wait to hear what mom and dad have to say about that when she goes home. “But, first, you have to answer just one question.” Céleste looked up at the woman and looked at her expectantly. “Are you aware of what Pandora will do to you? You know you’re losing 10 plus years of your life to this program?” Céleste let a cold smirk crawl on her face.</p><p> “Ma’am, this world has done nothin’ but break me down and take from me right from the start. I’ll take my chances with Pandora. Besides, I’ve wasted 16 years on this piece of shit rock. What’s 10 plus on a planet I’ve never been on?” She didn’t seem to be convinced. Céleste breathed a heavy sigh and looked her in her eye. “I thought the test was easy. Like… Not gonna lie to you, I could’ve done that high as hell and off 3 cups of sugared caffeine. I may be young, but I’m probably the best shot you’ve got to help the scientists over there.” A moment of intense eye contact, ‘A test of wills.’, she thought to herself with a slight grin. She knew the answer the moment the test popped up on her screen. She saw the resolve in the old woman’s storm colored irises dissolve with a roll and with that, Ms. Santiago sighed, pulling out the necessary papers. Céleste stepped out to make a phone call.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter .5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Things are kicking up a bit. I'll be posting one or two more chapters (I've had this written out for a while) and then I'll draft up a couple more chapters to keep things rollin'. Hope you enjoy</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It’s been a couple weeks since they let her join the program. And, just as Céleste thought, she was finishing her third year of college strong. And while Céleste hadn’t thought that they’d let her join in, no matter how smart she was, she couldn’t help but enjoy the so-called “hell” that her, her brother and their fellow space popsicles in training went through. Did that make her a psycho to the rest of the trainees? Just the slightest bit. Did she care? No, not at all. If there was one thing Céleste learned about herself from her time with the Sully family, her brothers in particular, it was that she enjoyed a good challenge. The Avatar training program? It gave her a good run for her money. From the enhanced gravity chambers, the obstacle courses from hell, and the caf wasn’t all that great either. (Trillions of dollars put into this program and they can’t bother to fund the mess hall back home? She couldn’t imagine what the Mess will look like on Pandora. Catastrophic.)</p><p>After that test, and Ms. Santiago’s little interrogation, Céleste’s call to the house was a bit.. Well.. <em>“</em><strong>YOU DID W H A T?!” screamed Eric Sully into the phone, (it was times like this that Céleste rejoiced in the volume buttons) “Dad, let me explain-!” “No, you went ahead and took this stupid test, we didn’t even want Tom to do it in the first place and then you-of course you went ahead and passed it-and now they’re gonna send you off into space-!.. You’re coming home. Right now. You’re not doing this.” Céleste’s jaw dropped. She couldn’t believe this. She knew her dad would oppose but this was ridiculous. “No way! I’m not coming home until these papers are signed.” “Céleste Lacouronne Sully if you don’t come home right now-!” He cut off, there was a slight murmuring in the back. A group of staff and scientist looking people walked by her, talking about costs and logistics and other things..</strong></p><p>
  <strong>“Well the natives aren’t exactly cooperating with everyone-” “You think they would? A group of the native kids set fire to a bulldozer, and they went and shot down the school and them with it. Of course they wouldn’t cooperate.” “I heard, one of the princesses of the clan had died in the incident..” They wandered off, the conversation putting a bad feeling in Céleste’s spirit. ‘What are they doin’ over there-?’ “Céleste? Céleste honey, can you hear me?” Alicia’s voice came from the receiver. “Yeah I-I hear you ma, I was just distracted, what were you saying..?” Alicia’s slight chuckle could be heard, a small smile crawling up Céleste’s face. She always loved her mom’s laughter. “I was saying, your father is a little shook up about his only daughter going into a training program to get shot out into space for almost 10 years.. He’s worried. Especially since he had planned on seeing you through your senior year..”</strong>
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  <strong>She sighed, scratching her head as the slight guilt slithered in. “Yeah I know… But they told me I could do training and finish college, since everyone here has mostly finished college anyway.. And it wouldn’t be too hard since I’m triple majoring and-” “And being our own little Wonder Woman. I know.. Are you sure you want to do this? You know that job in New Sacramento has been blowing up your phone for the past few months..” A research facility on the island of California, (it broke off the continent from a big earthquake that hit during her 7th grade year.) has been calling for her to come help them “save the human race”. As far as Céleste was concerned, they were only getting headway because of the government figureheads trying to convince the real masters of control that our dying planet is in dire need of assistance. She wanted no part of this planet in all honesty.</strong>
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  <strong>She shook her head, “Nah mom, I wanna go. I have to. I want to make a difference somewhere. Any real help I could’ve done here won’t matter. The planet is dying, and no one here cares. I can help on Pandora somehow. I know I can. I at least want to try..” Silence. She looked in the room that Ms. Santiago was waiting in, pen in hand. “Alright Céleste.. If this is what you want then we support you. Just do your best sweetheart.” Alicia’s voice held a note of sadness in it, but there was pride there, making Céleste happier than she thought she’d be. “Thanks mom. I will. And tell Dad I’ll bring home his favorite donuts on the way back.” Her mother chuckled and relayed the message, her father’s excited “Yes!” could be heard. “He’ll be expecting you and Tommy shortly. Be safe dear. I love you.” “We’ll be home soon ma. I love you too.”</strong>
</p><p>She smiled, the memory taking her from her “homework” for a minute. They (the scientists) were tasked with learning about the natives, the Na’vi. It was like looking in a history book, how primitive they were. However she had taken to learning the language. Language was something of her forte and she was trying to break it down into something she could work with in prep for the lecture the next day. She was sitting in the caf, (or the mess depending on what person you asked), finally taking a break from one of the obstacle courses she kept doing (the zipline on it was too much to resist), reading over some phrases and sentence structures that were tickling her brain, when she felt an especially irritating presence behind her.</p><p>“Hello Sully #2.” She inwardly grimaced at the sound of the male newcomer’s voice. ‘I can’t ever catch a break..’ She turned around and took in this new face. Blond hair, sharp features, bright green eyes, and a permanent cheshire cat grin that bordered on impish. He would’ve been cute, if his eyes didn’t wander over her so hungrily. “And you are..?” He smiled, making a table of women a few paces away sigh, hopelessly attracted to him Céleste figured. “The name’s Coffman. Liam Coffman, pleasure to meet you.” He extended a hand, and though Céleste was reluctant to take it, she didn’t want to be rude. She grasped it, “Uh huh.. Can I ask how you know me..?”</p><p>He took it upon himself to sit next to her, the table of supposed Liam stans glaring heavily in their direction. “I have my ways. Plus, Thomas is in my obstacle block. He slipped that he had a sister in the training program one time and I just had to meet the Sully family prodigy.” The flattery was almost bearable but his eyes intensely stared at her chest. She leaned her head down to meet him at his lower-than-necessary eye level with the fakest smile she could muster. “Oh wow really? Tommy didn’t tell me he made a new friend.” The words might’ve been sweet but her tone could cut through steel. She might’ve been the youngest there, but she wasn’t gonna take shit from anyone, especially not some Casanova wannabe.</p><p>He chuckled, her harsh tone seemingly going right past his head. “Yeah well, Thomas didn’t tell me his little sister was so beautiful. Say, your name is..?” She could hardly restrain herself from rolling her eyes. Goddess what did she have to do to get some peace and quiet around here? “If I just told you that would be too easy. Why don’t you go ask Tommy what my name is since he’s sooo inclined to share that info.” She went to stand up when he grabbed her hand. “Come on dollface-” She turned and stared at him, venom clear in her eyes. A soft, neutral look plastered across her face. Her voice came out gentle but uncompromising like a mother scolding her child, she commanded his attention without hesitation. “One. I’m not a doll. You treat me as such, and you <b>will</b> regret it. Two, you touch me without my permission again, and you’ll lose a hand. Third, you think you can get to me with your pretty boy smile, but you can’t. Many men who’re better looking, wealthier, and definitely packing more than you have tried and failed to get in my pants. Please do not humiliate yourself trying to get me. It won’t happen.” She ripped her hand away, drinking in his shocked expression with a smirk. “Good day to you.”</p><p>She left the mess with a pleased smile on her face. She was wondering where she’d go to finish her studies when- “Heaven! Heaven lovely come here!” A familiar voice from down the hall called to her, the nickname she was given made her turn with a grin. “Rylie!” The young black girl in question stopped in front of her, her usual cheery vibe and good natured smile was stuck on her face. ‘I wonder if she ever frowns.’ Céleste thought with a chuckle. Rylie Carr was only 17, Céleste beating her as the youngest in the group by only a couple months. The young woman had caramel colored skin, just a few shades lighter than Céleste’s, she was 5’8, and had stunningly brown eyes. However, Céleste noticed her friend was panting slightly and had to catch her breath. “Where you headed in such a hurry?” “Did you forget? The demo for the new microspectrometer they just installed is starting soon.” Céleste’s dark blue eyes widened in shock. “Oh shit I forgot! Let’s go!”</p><p>_______________________</p><p>It’s the year 2148. It’s been 10 years of training, and Céleste and Tom will be shipped off to space within the week. But Céleste is yet again, finishing a late night of studying, researching, and reminiscing in what she calls her “dorm” that she shares with Rylie. It was decent size, and looked like a regular college kid dorm room. Two beds, two desks, two nightstands, and while the room was originally dull and gray like the rest of the building, Rylie and Céleste made it a point to decorate. Posters, colorful rugs and paintings (some of Rylie’s pieces) were hung on the wall. Céleste put some drawings she made for her friend on the walls as well. At the moment her friend was nowhere to be found, she was out drinking with Tommy and the other scientists, mulling over their upcoming trip into space. Céleste however was reading up on some recent articles about the Unobtanium, it’s properties and the plans the government had for the substance</p><p>However she suddenly got a pain in her chest, so sharp and intense she dropped her papers in shock. She groaned, placing a hand over the spot that ached, right above her heart. “Maybe I shouldn’t have eaten caf food today..” She mumbled to herself, trying to massage the pain away. She figured that maybe she should lay down and give it a rest. It’s bad enough she hadn’t slept good the past couple days. ‘And then there’s the problem of getting Jake to come over for one last dinner..’ She thought with a sigh. As she got undressed she couldn’t help but shake her head about the day her brother came home from the war..</p><p>
  <strong>Céleste was walking back from one of her lectures, headed to the next when her cell started to ring. She picked it up, apprehensive about seeing Thomas’s name pop up on the screen. He almost never called her on the phone. “Hello?” “Céleste! You gotta get to the hospital.” “What-why? What’s happened?” “It’s Jake.” Her heart dropped to her stomach as she hung up, running to her room to grab her things. The dream she had the night before flashed behind her eyes, the screaming, the explosions, the stinging pain she felt in her back, it wasn’t her, it was Jake. She ran past people in the hallway, “Make a hole people! Coming through! Move it, outta my way!” She shoved when she had to, making it outside to her car, a light blue Jeep Cherokee. She threw her stuff in, started the car and punched it as much as she could down the highway.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>When she finally made it to the VA hospital, gave her name and made it to her brother’s room, she walked in breathless, and speechless when she saw the state her brother was in. He was wrapped up in bandages, a breathing tube and IVs hooked up to him. Thomas looked up when he saw her come in, walking over to her as she leaned on him, his arms wrapping around her as she silently cried. “What.. What happened to him..?” She whispered. “His convoy was attacked.. He was leading a group of men through town when they got ambushed.. A little girl was caught in the middle.. He went to pull her out of the line of fire but he caught a bullet in the back.. His remaining squad pulled him and the girl to safety.. But.. he won’t be able to walk again.. Not without the corrective surgery..”</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>She was torn. She was relieved because he’d live to see another day, and with him not being able to walk, he wouldn’t go to throw his life away in that stupid war. She was devastated however, because she knew that when he woke up and got the news, he wouldn’t be the same. She could only grip the back of Tom’s shirt and cry. It was bad enough they lost their parents just 2 years before, and the money they had gotten from the insurance payout wasn’t enough to keep their family home off the market, but now their brother was a paralyzed war veteran.. ‘Goddess knows this country doesn’t give two shits about vets in the first place.. Where would we even get the money to get the surgery..?’ Céleste’s and Thomas’ paycheck from the RDA was good money, but the corrective surgery needed to give Jake his legs back…</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>A couple months after Jake got out of the hospital, Céleste and Tommy had wanted to do something for Jake, to let him know his siblings were there for him. Céleste had suggested his favorite cake, with some drinks on the side. Thomas had a better idea. He didn’t share it with Céleste, and she always felt he knew Jake better than she did (they always disagreed and said that Céleste knew them both better than their parents did, she was the only one who could truly tell them apart.) However as they approached his apartment door, Céleste got anxious, unease pooled in her gut. Thomas knocked, fishing for something in his pockets. Céleste heard wheels move slowly to the door, and as Thomas pulled the items from his pocket, the door swung open to reveal a very disheveled looking Jake.</strong>
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  <strong>She would’ve smiled at him had she not seen the stickers Thomas pulled out of his pocket with that stupidly optimistic grin he always wore whenever he felt he did good. As her hand came up to slap him upside the back of his head, the door slammed shut in their faces before they could even get a word in. Thomas looked at her with a befuddled expression, to which she smacked the back of his head, a stern, disapproving look on her face. “Next time, just let me make the goddamn cake.”</strong>
</p><p>As Céleste laid down for bed, she got another sharp pain in her chest, this time making her sit up, her heart felt like it was on fire. ‘Goddess above, what is going on here..?’ She rubbed at the spot, her breathing getting more labored. As she concentrated on keeping her breath under control, she got an urge to check up on her older brothers. She reached for her phone, when Rylie came stumbling in giggling like an idiot, a beautiful long legged, dark skinned, scantily clad woman on her arm to make matters even better. Rylie looked up spotting her friend sitting on her bed. “Heyyyyy Heavenly!” She slurred through her words and hiccups with relative ease. If there was one thing Rylie was good at, it was holding her liquor.</p><p>“Hey Carr. Havin’ a good night?” She hissed through her pain, going unnoticed by her intoxicated friend. “Well hells yeah, we’re leaving in a wee-HIC-a week, we can’t go without living it up a little bit..” She trailed off, the woman on her arm whispering in her ear, making a devilish look come across her face, and Céleste knew that look. She sighed and pulled on a plain hooded onesie, (she only ever wore it in the room, but she’d make an exception this one time.) “I hear you. I’ll take a stroll around the building. Did Tommy boy come back with you?” Rylie shook her head, trying to steady herself as she led the woman to her bed. “No, he said he was go-HIC-gonna go for a stroll. Said he’d send a text when he was on his way back.”</p><p>The strange woman cooed from Rylie’s bed, her Spanish accented English sounding sultry and inviting. “Now, what was that you said at the bar..? Somethin’ about tying cherry stems..?” Céleste blushed slightly as she hurriedly collected her phone with her headphones, and a notebook and pencil. She shut the room door and sighed. She pulled the hood of her onesie over her bandana clad hair, and made her way to the roof of the building. She noticed that the pain from earlier had subsided, but that her being felt.. Empty. Cold. She wrapped her arms around herself, shuddering as she climbed the steps to the other levels.</p><p>It wasn’t until she reached the rooftop that she felt a sense of warmth. It was summertime, and though the moon and the stars in that beautifully navy blue night sky hid behind the miles of smog that coated the Earth’s atmosphere, she could imagine it. The millions, billions, trillions of stars that hid behind that polluted barrier, the moon in all of its silent glory.. ‘I wonder what this planet would’ve looked like by now had humans taken care of it like they should’ve.. Maybe it could’ve been.. Even more beautiful than we could’ve dreamed..’ She thought wistfully, sitting down, and drawing to the sounds of her music.</p><p>She didn’t know how long she was up there, she really didn’t care. She knew Rylie had the room occupied, and she wasn’t going to sleep soon, so why worry..? She noticed she started to draw a cat.. A fat looking calico cat in a basket full of kittens.. It tugged at her heart the way things did when you lose something important.. She continued despite the fact that a sense of nostalgia was coming over her, enveloping her in a suffocating sadness. She had no idea where it came from, but she relished in her sudden melancholic mood. She just continued to draw, and immersed herself in her notebook, the sketches on the page becoming harder to see as tears suddenly came to her eyes.</p><p>She didn’t know why they came but she just let herself go, not questioning anything, she stopped drawing and kept crying. Wailing over the noise of the never slumbering city around her. She felt the sobs wrack her body, the tears spilled over her lids and she couldn’t help herself but to mourn for this planet. Mourn for the continued loss of life that never ended. She could feel this planet’s life force being drained, the effort it took to sustain so many people on its surface (19 billion at this point) and the constant abuse it suffered from its inhabitants was slowly sending it to an early grave. Her grief pouring out of her soul like an ever flowing cup.</p><p>It wasn’t until an hour later that she decided to give her emotional cup a break. She sat there, drained and exhausted. She collected her things; quickly checking her phone, seeing that Thomas had yet to text back, and was going to see if her female partner in crime was done “acquainting” herself with her new femme, when she got a call from- “Jake..” She mumbled to herself. A feeling of dread came over her, making it almost impossible to pick up, but she did. “Jake..?” She said. There was silence for a moment, and he said, “You might wanna get dressed.. Tommy’s.. He..” Jake’s voice trailed off, and she couldn’t bring herself to believe him. Not her brother. No.</p><p>“No.. No he can’t.. Jake.. Jacob please tell me…” “Yeah.. He.. He is.. He’s down at the morgue.. I’m already here..” She couldn’t take anymore and hung up. She didn’t move a muscle. Not an inch. It was like her world stood still while the world around her kept going at an alarming pace, light speed even. Her breath turned shallow, quick, she couldn’t keep up, she couldn’t think, she couldn’t help but want to scream. She fell to her knees and her whimpers fell into dazed mumbles. The mumbles turned into groans, and the groans turned into sobs. Yet again her tears poured out, she didn’t think her eyes held so much liquid sadness, but tonight was an exception. She cried and screamed till her throat was raw, till she knew the city around her could hear her grief. Till her eyes could pour no more, till her cup was finally bone dry.</p><p>She stumbled to her room, checking to make sure all was quiet. She went in, found the 2 sleeping turtledoves entangled in each other and got dressed. She went to her car, and before she could start it, she spotted the picture in her rearview mirror. It was from her and her brother's graduation ceremony from high school, their parents in the background crying happy tears while her siblings had picked her up and placed her on their shoulders, their smiles bright with prospects of the future. While she graduated early (she was 14 at the time and was already taking college courses (hence being in her third year of college 2 years later)) her and her brother Tom were the valedictorians of their class. That day was one for the books.</p><p>She couldn’t bear to think about it anymore, forcefully turning the key in the ignition and driving down the lit up streets and wiping away what was left of her tears. She made it to the morgue, and stepping into the building, she could feel the death and lingering energies of long dead people hanging in the air. It gave her a horrible feeling. She was led to the room that held Tommy’s-.. “Heaven..” Jake called out to her, his hunched figure exuding everything he couldn’t bring himself to really feel. He looked so tired, and so exhausted. She gazed in his face and saw him, but she also always saw Tom. There were two men in suits and trench coats, a man with black hair, the other honey blonde, and she wondered what they wanted from her dwindling family.</p><p>She looked over at the cardboard box he was in, a plastic covering shielding his face from view. The furnace operator pulled the covering off, revealing her older brother’s body.. Pale. Cold. Empty. She felt this happening before she even realized it. Just like what happened with Jake. It was enough to make her breakdown again. “What happened..?” She whispered. “He was.. He was mugged.. A few blocks from the bar he was at..” Jake whispered back, his voice tense, and she could tell he was so full of pain. She knew the feeling, and was on the verge of tears. The man behind them cleared his throat, “Ahem,” Céleste turned around, wondering what these two monkey suits wanted from the grieving pair. “Céleste..” Jake said, feeling his sister's irritation spike, her patience failing.</p><p>“What was it you wanted to speak about?” Jake said politely, not bothering to turn around. “Well, like we said in the car, we represent the RDA.” Céleste realized what was happening here, and felt another wave of dread flow over her. “Your brother and sister represent a significant investment. And we’d like to talk to you about taking over your brother’s contract.” ‘Translation: His death was costly, and you happen to be identical twins.’ The operator pulled the plastic down, closed the box, and pushed the button to roll her brother into the oven. All she could think was how angry she was that they were asking him like this, so short notice, it’s a week before they ship out- “Since your genome is identical to his, you could step into his shoes-” Céleste and the blonde man’s partner looked at him pointedly, “so to speak.” He finished sheepishly. She watched Jake, just staring at the box containing their brother’s corpse, as the man pushed another button that shut the door, and another that sent the body ablaze.</p><p>“It’d be a fresh start on a new world.” She tried to take a quiet breath, ‘Steady yourself, pull it together.’ But her heart could only take much more. “And the pay is good.” The dark haired one chimed in, “Very good.” Céleste had had enough. “But how do you expect to cram 10 years of training in my brothers brain huh?” Her voice was calm, but the air about her was tense, she was this close to losing her shit. “We’ve talked with the head trainer on Pandora and they’ve got a three week crash course ready for him upon landing.” She supposed that would have to be efficient.. But she looked at Jake and could tell he was already considering it. Her sapphire colored eyes revealed a small fraction of her sadness, her grief.</p><p>Finally, after a few minutes of silence as Jake contemplated the offer, Céleste yielded to her internal battle. “Jake.. If you really wanna do this, I will personally give you my own version of the crash course. Since I’ve completed it, and I know how your brain works, I can help you up till the day of the launch.” Surprised at her offer, Jake looked up at her, the men looked at each other, and the furnace person also looked shocked. “Look, I’m not happy about them asking. But you’re a grown man, and whatever you choose I will respect it and support it… But I also wouldn’t mind having you there if you can bother to be around me.” She gave him a piece of a smile, still upset and hurt at the loss, but wanting to make sure he knew she wanted him there, as her big bro.</p><p>He sat there, thinking. The furnace turned off, the ashes were put in an urn, and the man placed it on a table. Jake was thoughtful. She hoped it didn’t hurt him. The fact that he’d have to bounce between being able to walk and not was going to be stressful on him mentally, as if the fact that he was crippled wasn't enough for him to take on. ‘He’d love it though..’ She thought to herself. She watched him, as he looked up and nodded. Determination in his eyes. “I’ll do it.”</p><p>__________________</p><p>It was launch day. All their effects were packed and ready to go. Céleste and Jake had been training all week. She was determined to not think about that night, and focused on helping her brother get the basics down. When the team got news of Tom’s death they gave their condolences. A man named Norm, a lanky white man with brown hair and eyes who gave her Shaggy vibes, she’d seen her brother talking to and in lectures with, had offered her a mini calico cat stuffy. “I heard about Tom.. He was a good friend. He told me once that you like cats and well.. I’m sorry for your loss..” She had smiled softly at the gift and nodded her thanks. Overwhelmed at his thoughtful present, and made note to catch up with him another time.</p><p>She finished training on her 24th birthday, which Tom and the group had celebrated after their last lecture (with her favorite cheesecake, wine and ice cream). Jake had sent her a gift, a new set of sketching pencils and a new notebook, but didn’t show up for the party, and she didn’t fault him for it either. She heard Rylie walk in, her arm coming around her shoulders. “Can you believe it..?” Céleste shook her head in return. “No.. Not really.” “You gonna be okay..?” Rylie checked in with her frequently. It made her happy to know that she wanted to make sure Céleste would be okay. Even if she knew Céleste didn’t mean it when she said she was okay.</p><p>“I’ll be alright. Tommy wouldn’t want me to be upset anyway..” She leaned on Rylie, her head resting on her shoulder, nostalgia taking over just a little bit. A moment later, wheels were heard moving into the room behind them. “Hey Heaven.. Wanted to see how you were..” Jake’s voice brought a slight smile to her eyes. She wasn’t sure if her brother’s voice was his or Tom’s. They sounded so alike sometimes. Except when they didn’t. “I’m alright Jake.. You..?” He shrugged, leaning on the arm of his chair. “Not sure.. You ready to ship out?” She looked at Rylie with a small grin. “Been ready since we started this damn program.”</p><p>They made it out to the ship just in time, having been caught up reminiscing in their room once more. Boarding alphabetically, Rylie got on before them, and Norm was a little ways behind. They went in, were given scrubs-like clothes to wear, and were strapped up to the individual cryo chambers. With a nod to each other, Jake and Céleste got comfortable. They were slid into their chambers, and Céleste counted backwards from 10 like they were told… <em>10.... </em>‘I hope I can’t dream for the next 6 six years..’ <em>9…</em> ‘I wonder if Thomas found Mom and Dad..’ <em>8… </em>She was steadily getting.. Sleepier.. <em>7... </em>‘I wonder if I’ll get a hangover..’ <em>6…</em> She lost the feeling in her legs.. <em>5… </em>It crawled up her body.. <em>4…</em> her face felt heavy.. <em>3… </em>And all went black.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>First POV:</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before I even realized I wasn’t completely out of cryo sleep, I felt like I could feel Pandora’s energy give my own a restart. I felt revitalized, restless. But I couldn’t bring myself to tear my eyelids open, to make my body move, not right then. But when I actually woke up from cryo, I wasn’t sure of my surroundings, how I got there. You know that fog of leftover sleep from those long, 5+ hour naps? But with a side of a headache that felt like an ass whooping for your brain? Yeah, that’s what it felt like. I looked around, my eyes adjusting to the dim fluorescent blue light of the chamber. Everything felt heavy, sluggish. I watched as some droplets of liquid merged. We were definitely still in space. I felt the jolt of my chamber opening up, and I blinked as I took in the sight I hadn’t seen in 6 years; my fellow space popsicles and the various nurses, cryo technicians that were coming around, opening the chambers and checking on people.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Right on cue, a techie came over. “How far out are we?” She peered into my eyes, her brown into my blue. “Not far now.” She checked my arms, making sure I had mobility, unstrapped me, and floated off to another chamber. The one next to me opened, and my brother began to slide out of his chamber. A male tech came over, checking on him. “Are we there yet?” “We’re there sunshine, we’re there.” He patted my brother's arm, unstrapped him and floated off. He looked around before spotting me, relief in his eyes. “Hey.” “Hey.” We whispered to each other, voices soft and hoarse from lack of use. We floated over to our lockers, a technician’s voice echoing off the walls. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ve been in cryo for 5 years, 9 months, and 22 days. You will be hungry. You will be weak. If you feel any nausea please use the bags..” I tuned him out, knowing where the bags were and not feeling sick anyway. I opened my locker finding my smaller personal effects, Jake’s being the same. I looked around, looking for my friend- “Céleste!” Speak of the devil. I looked down, seeing her float gracefully up from under us, dodging the multiple streams of people flying around. “How are you feeling?” I asked her. “Like I had a goodnight’s rest. Never slept that good in my life.” She said, yawning and stretching. “Don’t get used to it Carr. They don’t have cryo sleeping chambers on Pandora for nightly use.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She laughed at my jest, Jake chuckling as well. After that we were corralled into changing rooms, Jake went in with the grunts and the mercenaries, the scientists fell in on the other side. We changed, were sent up this long tube thing with a ladder and climbed up the ship that’d take us to the planet's surface. I hoped Jake would be okay as I climbed into a seat, and strapped myself in. Other people fell in line, finding seats and buckling in. I watched as Jake made it up, wheelchair under his arm. I motioned him toward me, and he sat down. “You alright?” He nodded. “Yeah. The way up here was a little tricky but nothing I couldn’t handle. The lack of gravity helped too.” I nodded and sighed as the pilots made their final checks, and we began our descent into the atmosphere.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>________________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While Jake went to get debriefed by the head of the grunt team (it’s what we scientists have affectionately named the mercenary group), the research team was sent straight to work. Rylie had been called to help with the anthropologists, Norm helped the xenolinguistics team, and I was looking around, in awe of the facilities we were given to work with. It wasn’t long before I felt a presence, and then a tap on my shoulder. I turned, and was met with a young man, he was a couple inches taller than me, and he had spiky black hair, blue eyes, and a slightly unnerving smile. “Hi, I’m Jason, I’m a fellow Avatar pilot. I was sent by Dr. Augustine to come get you.” He started walking in a direction, and I followed, not entirely sure what else I could do. “When I heard that a 16 year old had passed the Dr.’s tests, with flying colors at that well, I just couldn’t believe it.” He led me to a big room, circular in design, with link pods lined up next to each other.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At the same time, my brother and Norm were acquainting each other and themselves to the Avatars. “They got big.” I heard Jake say, his disbelief almost amusing. “They matured on the flight out.” I cut in, they both looked up surprised and happy to see me. Norm turned to a scientist, a short stout man, brown skinned and curly mop of hair. “So the proprioceptive sims worked out.” The scientist answered, “Yeah they’ve got great muscle tone, give us a few hours you guys can take them out for a spin.” Jason had left at some point, being dragged off by another white coat, to which I decided to join Norm and Jake on their tour around the facility. I introduced myself to the other scientist, Max Patel, he said his name was. He would be helping us with our avatars should anything go wrong.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While Norm was showing Jake how to work the video logs, I happened to spot my own avatar. She looked like.. Well, me. She was curled up, occasionally twitching her long fingers. Her equally untameable mane of hair almost covered her feline ears, and her mouth was curved in a small smile. I placed a hand against the glass, so entranced by it that I didn’t notice Jake come up to me. “She looks like you.” He said, equally amazed. I nodded, “It’s almost like looking at a distorted reflection.. She makes me wonder if this is what my mom looked like when she was my age..” I trailed off. “Think she’ll have eyes like you?” He asked. “It could be possible. However, despite blue eyes being the dominant trait in my genes, they made the avatars so that we could blend in with the Na’vi. On the slimmest off chance it does..” My sentence cut short, hearing someone come out of a link pod.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, who’s got my goddamn cigarette?” We turned, spotting an older looking white woman, reddish orange hair, brown eyes, and had an air of authority about her. I looked over at Norm, “Is that..?” “Dr. Augustine? Yeah, she’ll be our boss for the next five years, she’s practically legend, she wrote the entire book on Pandoran botany.” Max leaned over, “That’s cause she likes plants more than people..” A techie had scurried over to her with a lit cigarette, passing it to her as she stretched and cracked stiff joints. When she spoke, people jumped. ‘They don’t even ask how high..’ I was a bit awestruck. </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <span>“And here she is, Cinderella back from the ball. Grace I’d like you to meet Norm Spellman-” She cut him off, “Norm, I hear good things about you. How’s your Na’vi?” He gave a slight bow, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“May the All Mother smile upon our first meeting.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Grace nodded, approving of his Na’vi. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Not bad. You sound a little formal.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Norm shrugged, a nervous smile on his face. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“There is still much to learn.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>She turned to me with a discerning eye. “You’re the 16 year old who passed my tests aren’t you?” I nodded, a hand over my heart as I spoke, repeating Norm’s Na’vi greeting. She smiled approvingly. “Your Na’vi’s a little formal too.. But you’d fit right in.” I reached a hand out, “Céleste Lacouronne Sully, at your service.” She firmly grasped my hand and gave it a shake. “Grace Augustine, I’ve been looking forward to working with you and your brother. You both were very promising, I’m sorry about what happened to him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I acknowledged her condolence with a nod and small smile, Max cutting in, “This is Thomas’s twin, Jake Sully.” I could see the brief confusion that went through her eyes before she rounded on him, “I know who you are. I don’t need you, I needed your brother. You know, the one with the PhD, who had 10 years of training for this.” Jake scoffed, though I could tell he wasn’t letting her harsh tone get to him. “Yeah I know, it’s a big inconvenience for everybody.” “Have you had any lab training? You know how to work a gas chromatograph?” She questioned. He shook his head, “Nope.” “Any actual lab work at all?” “In high school.” I had to chime in, “You ditched and made me do your homework.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span><br/>As Grace threw her hands up in exasperation, Jake looked at me, a ‘really?’ look on his face. “That homework was easy and not worth my time, yes I’m still mad about it.” He chuckled as I smiled at him, Grace’s rage at his being here not enough to crush his spirit. Grace looked at Max, “You see? You see? They’re pissin’ on us without so much as the courtesy to call it rain!” She pushed past a group of techs, “I’m talking to Selfridge.” She murmured on her way out. “Grace, that’s not a good idea..!” Max yelled to her, but she was gone down the hallway. All of the white coats sighed, Max turning to Jake, “Be here, tomorrow, o-800. Try to use big words.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>_________________</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, that could’ve gone better.” Jake said, spooning whatever crap they’d put onto his plate. We were in the caf, and just like I suspected, the food here makes the food back home look like 5 star restaurant chefs were cooking in the kitchen. Norm sat next to him, Max on his other side, and I spotted Rylie not too far away so I waved her over. “You gotta understand Jake, when Grace heard about Céleste and Thomas, she was really excited. She was hoping to get some headway with two geniuses on the team.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“And now we’ve got one genius and a-” “Trigger happy Jarhead.” We all looked up as Rylie sat down next to me, eyeing the identical grey tinged slop they’d given her. “Not my words, Grace’s. I happened to be passing by the lookout tower they were in when she was giving him the third degree. She’s not too happy ‘bout a marine being assigned to the team.” She tentatively gave the slop a try, but her face turned green and she put the tray to the side. “Surely the Na’vi eat better than this.” I laughed at her remark, nodding my head. “They live off the land Carr, they eat to their heart's content."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>We kept talking, exchanging lighthearted banter when I felt a chill go down my spine. Rylie immediately noticed my discomfort. “Heaven? You alright?” I nodded, but I couldn’t shake the feeling.. “Yeah.. I’m fine, I just.. Can’t help but feel like someone’s..” I trailed off, looking around the room. People were laughing, talking, eating. But it didn’t seem like anyone was watching me, until my eyes locked with a familiar pair of neon green ones. I couldn’t help but groan. “Ugh.. I almost forgot he existed..” I facepalmed, damn near driving my head into the table from irritation. “He? Who’s ‘He’? Do I have to be a big brother?” I heard Jake’s voice get gruff, like the way dad’s voice would get when he got protective. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>I waved him off, “No, it’s fine.. It’s just.. Ugh, Liam Coffman.. I can’t believe I thought my existence on this planet would go unbothered..” Rylie snorted as Norm sighed, Jake and Max’s confused expressions leading them to indulge the two about my current ‘history’ with that annoyance of a man. “Liam Coffman has been after Heaven since she came in the program, and our dear Céleste hasn’t given him the time of day. You shoulda seen the time he tried asking her out on the obstacle course, oh my god!” Rylie was practically cackling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She was going down the zipline, and he was waiting on the other side. When she landed he just came out to her straight, ‘Wanna go out?’ She said, and I quote, “I’d rather jump off the back of a banshee mid flight than go out with you.” His face was priceless, cause he had no idea what a banshee was-!” And Rylie couldn’t keep it together after that. Norm was chuckling a bit too, and while the memory of it was annoying, I couldn’t help but laugh either. “You shoulda seen the first time we met. I really thought I made it clear to him that I wasn’t interested, but I guess not. And here we are, almost 20 years later..” I let the thought go unfinished, feeling his presence getting closer was throwing me off. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello Coffman..” I grumbled seeing him at the head of the table. He hadn’t changed since I saw him last. Same close cropped blonde hair, cheshire cat grin and those irritatingly bright green eyes. He grinned, “Hey there Céleste, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.” It was like he completely forgot about the people around us and just zeroed in on me. It made me uncomfortable, but Jake had cut in to grab his attention, clearly trying to keep my irritation at low levels. “Yeah, hey, hi, I’m Jake Sully, Céleste’s big brother.” Liam looked at him confused but then, “Oooh right! I forgot Thomas told me about his twin brother. He didn’t mention you’d be his replacement.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“He didn’t plan on dying in the first place, doofus.” I grumbled, I could just barely hold my sneer to myself. Liam chuckled, “Nobody ever does dollface. They feel real lucky that he had a twin, or that would’ve been 20 million dollars down the drain.” My face didn’t change from it’s neutral expression, but I broke my plastic spoon having gripped it so hard. The table went silent, and Jake shivered, a light cold sweat had broken out over his face, he didn’t envy this man for being on the receiving end of this anger, it was not handed out lightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have told you… Time after time.. To not call me “doll”.. I’m not.. A doll..” My right eye twitched just the slightest bit and even Rylie and the other two could feel my inner wrath. I let the broken half I held fall, my hand curled in a fist as I blinked quickly a couple times before I took a deep breath. ‘Pull it together Heaven.. You can do it.. Don’t get in trouble the first day..’ “Coffman, it’s been… a time, seeing you but you can leave the table now.” I said calmly as I placed my spoon pieces on my tray. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone shifted their attention to him, he played it cool, went to speak, but someone from another table called him over. “Sure Céleste. I’ll see you around.” He got up and left and the table collectively breathed a sigh of relief. It was silent for a bit since I was taking a minute to calm down, my happy place was getting harder to get to the more I felt the urge to punch him. Jake was the first to speak. “I’m amazed you gave him a chance, I thought you were gonna skewer him. I haven’t seen you that mad in ages.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>I nodded, sighing. “I have no reason to be.. But he gets under my skin so bad, just hearin’ him speak drives me up the wall. And when he calls me dollface? Ooh that son of a-” I cut myself off yet again, I couldn’t lose my cool now. “Max, doesn't this place have a workout room or somethin? Maybe a boxing area, anything?” He nodded, “It’s down the hall from the main area on the 2nd floor.” I gave him my thanks and bid my goodbyes. I was itching to fight, and I needed to blow some steam.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>_________</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That night after I’d gone to bed.. I had those dreams again.. For as long as I can remember, I had very telling dreams. The days before I decided to take the tests for the program, I had dreams of space. The one about Jake being paralyzed was technically one of them. The weeks prior to Tommy’s death I had dreams of running down an alleyway, being trapped by some unknown threat. I’d call it deja vu, cause I get those moments a lot too but it’s not.. But that night.. I dreamt a recurring dream of flying through a fog covered rainforest.. Soaring above the clouds.. Feeling the breeze carry me… I felt alive..</span>
</p><p>
  <span><br/>“<b>BEEP. BEEP BEEP. BEEP.” </b>Rylie’s alarm clock went off. The sun was probably peeking through the window but damn the covers kept the light out, I didn’t wanna get up.. “Get up Heaven, it’s almost 8:30.” I never got up so fast, “No way, you’re shitting me-!” I looked up from my frantic state, having thrown off my covers, and looking at the clock, seeing the time. “7:15.. You’re a saint..” I sighed in relief, thankful that my days of waking up late were still well behind me. “Hey, you’re not angry. You haven’t had any coffee, and you’re bright eyed, bushy tailed… Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?” Rylie looked at me suspiciously before smiling. “I think Pandora’s having an effect on you.” “It’s our first day in 6 years that we’re linking up with our avatars-controlling them? ON Pandora for the first time? I’m too psyched to sleep in honestly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She, “Mhm..” In response, unconvinced but letting it go. I got dressed, brushed my teeth, had my coffee, and we were both out the door by 7:45. We made it to the link room in 5 minutes, Jake and Norm were already there. “So, here’s the rundown. Your avatars are in a separate room that’s safe for them to breathe in. Meaning the air from outside is ventilated inside. Once you link in, we’ll check you real quick to make sure everything’s good to go and then you can get dressed and make your way outside. We’ve got a basketball court, obstacle course, and at the end of the day we put the avatars in the sleeping quarters out behind the gardens.”</span>
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  <span>Jake seemed to have understood, and before I could greet him Grace came in. “Okay cupcakes, how many link hours have been logged?” She looked at Rylie, “530 hours.” Norm, “520.” She looked at me, “580.” she nodded approvingly, and then Jake, well.. “An hour.” I sighed as Grace seemingly gave up. “Tell me you’re joking. He’s joking right?” I shrugged, “We did as much training as we could that last week, which was a lot but the link chambers were pretty full during that time, we could barely get that hour.” She sighed and took a drag from a cigarette and motioned us to our links. </span>
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  <span>“Céleste you’ll be getting that middle one. Rylie, the one on the end. Norm that one over there.” She led Jake to his. I hopped into my chamber, pulling on the biometrics and settling into the familiar fluid gel comfortably. I found it felt like a hug. I heard Jake say, “Don’t.” I suspected she had tried to help him in. “So you just figured you’d go to the most hostile environment known to mankind, with no training of any kind, and see how it went? What was going through your head?” Silence. And then, “Maybe I was just tired of doctors telling me what I couldn’t do.” I smiled, ‘He always was headstrong..’ I heard Grace again, as my hand went to pull the top down, “Just relax and let your mind go blank, that shouldn’t be hard for you.” “Kiss the darkest part of my lily white-” His chamber closed before he could get another word out.</span>
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  <span>I couldn’t help but laugh as my top came down, and quickly cleared my headspace. ‘Blank.. Go.. blank..’ And I felt my consciousness, me, go from my body through a tunnel of colorful light and then, to my avatar. I hadn’t done it in so long, but it felt familiar. My eyes blinked open, fluorescent lights blinding me as I took my first breath. Though the air was poisonous to humans, it felt like heaven to me. I’d never smelled air that clean. I sat up slowly, hearing commotion, and seeing my brother. He was getting up, shaking off the scientists around him, and before I could stop them, he took off.</span>
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  <span>I laughed as someone came over to me, checking me up and whatnot. The scientists were yellin’ about sedating him but I whistled, gaining their attention. “It’s the first time he’s had the ability to run in a long time. He’s just fine.” They looked at me for a moment, seemingly entranced. I was confused, until the person checking up on me had tapped me, “Your eyes. They’re still blue.” I was shocked, and she released me to the bathroom to change, and I met Rylie halfway. Her eyes were even more expressive clad in the avatar’s golden yellow irises. “Heaven, your eyes-!” “I guess my avatar wanted blue eyes too.” I said with a shrug, laughing a bit as we went on about our day from then on, enjoying the feeling of moving around in the Na’vi’s shoes.</span>
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  <span>Soon it became dark, and we all were laying down in the avatar sleeping quarters, a wooden cabin like structure with mosquito nets to the outside. Grace was herding scientists out, trying to get all of us out in time for dinner. “Come on kiddies, lights out. Jose don’t play with that you’ll go blind.” I was sitting down in the bed next to Jake and Rylie, watching Jake play with his queue. “That’s kinda freaky..” He said to himself, looking at me for an explanation. “Think of that as an external part of your avatars nervous system. Like a living USB for the planet. The Na’vi use it to keep themselves connected to their surroundings.” </span>
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  <span>I could tell Jake wasn’t sure of what I meant. I chuckled softly, thumping him lightly on his forehead. “Moron.” He smiled at me, Alicia’s favorite insult to Eric was my favorite to use on him and Thomas. We both laid down, I wrapped my braid around me, my tail around my leg, and I slipped away, seeing that tunnel of light and then “waking up” in the chamber. I blinked a couple times, making sure I could feel everything, and then the chamber opened up. It was Dr. Augustine, “You and your brother’s brain had nice activity, yours especially. Nice light show.” I smiled tiredly as the biometrics came up.</span>
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  <span><br/>“Jake’s more than he lets on. He might be a <em>skxawng</em>, but he’s a good guy, we’ve just had a rough decade..” I watched as Max pulled Jake’s chamber open and I could practically feel his happiness fading. He was so vibrant and lively in the avatar. Here he was.. “Yeah, I’m good, thank you.” Max had offered help but Jake’s refusal for it made me feel for him. I hope somehow this turns out alright for him. Goddess knows he needs a turnaround. We both do.</span>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>For the next few days after that it was the same; wake up, do some research, link up, exhaust ourselves in our avatars, come back, have dinner, repeat the next day. I was sitting at my table researching some banshee DNA when I got a tap on my shoulder. I turned, seeing Dr. Augustine with a sly grin on her face. “You wanna get out in the field?” I felt my eyes widen, excitement surely sparkling in them. “You’re kidding.” “Nope. We’re going to the very outskirts of <em> Keutrel </em> to get scans of the outermost roots. There’s somethin’ goin’ on in the biology of the Hometree that I haven’t figured out yet, and I wanna know what it is. I assumed you’d be interested in going but if not-” I cut her off, so excited I almost fell out of my chair. <br/><br/></p><p>“Are you kidding? You can count on me. When are we leaving?” “As soon as we get your jarhead of a brother out of his meeting.” I guess I looked puzzled since she continued. “Your brother’s the only one from the “security team” that has an avatar, so while he hangs out with us, he reports to Quaritch.” She watched my expression as I processed this information, the feeling it gave me made me.. Apprehensive. Jake might be a moron, but he’s not heartless, unlike the rest of those mercenaries. And as if on cue, he came rolling in, peeking at my research table. </p><p> </p><p>“Perfect timing marine. Come on, it’s time to link up.” Grace said, walking out towards the link room. Jake and I looked at each other and followed her, heading towards the room a couple paces behind her. “What was that meeting about?” I asked him, keeping my voice down. He shrugged, “Nothing important. Just the usual, “keep your head on swivel, shoot anything that moves” type deal..” I looked at him, unconvinced but willing to let it go. He held his hands up in surrender, “I won’t shoot anything as long as nothing tries to eat me.” I chuckled, thinking back to the time I found out he kicked a dog and I in turn kicked his ass for it. Though the dog did bite him first, I was uncompromising in my ‘hurt no creature’ rule as a child. </p><p> </p><p>We met up with Norm and Rylie on the way, and after linking to our avatars and getting ready for the field trip, we all headed out to the tarmac and waited for our pilot to come get us. I looked over at Jake; gun in hand, dressed in green cargo pants and a black tee shirt, his face was passive, neutral. He was tense though, in go mode. Grace tried to explain to Jake what we were doing out in the forest while the rest of us made small talk, and after a moment or two, a Samson came landing in front of our group.</p><p>A light skinned brown haired woman in her early to mid 20s was sitting in the pilot's seat. She wore sunglasses and had a grin on her face. There was a bald man inside as well, sitting on the side of the craft and holding onto the mounted machine gun for support. “Welcome to Air Chachon, I’m your host Trudy Chachon and I’ll be your assigned pilot for the remainder of our stay in Pandora. That’s my assistant and idiot gunman Wainfleet.” I liked her already. Rylie and I grinned, our soft laughter bringing a bigger smile to Trudy’s visage. “Nice to meet you Trudy, Wainfleet,” I said as we began loading our supplies into the aircraft, “That’s Rylie Carr, Norm Spellman, Dr. Grace Augustine, and my brother Jake Sully.” I introduced everyone, they in turn gave waves, Jake and Trudy seemed familiar with each other already as they gave each other a, “Sup?” Wainfleet was grinning at Rylie with a wave to which she smiled as non awkwardly as she could. She turned to me expectantly, “And you are?” “Oh right, my name’s Céleste.” I said, chuckling at my forgetfulness.</p><p>She nodded, turning slightly to shake my hand, “Pretty name. Means heavenly or celestial in some languages, <em> in my native tongue for example </em> .” She had switched to Spanish which put a smile on my face. <em> “Exactamundo mi amiga.” </em> I replied, her grin turning sly. “ <em> I think we’re gonna get along just fine. </em>” She answered, and we both chuckled at our quickly newfound friendship. Soon we all strapped in and took off, soaring high above the rainforest like trees, it felt like a dream. I hadn’t seen this much greenery on a planet since I last looked in a textbook. As quick as the ride started, Trudy was landing the Samson in an elevated clearing, I had assumed pilots landed here often. There was a break in the treeline a little ways away to see how far we were from base, and the grass looked permanently flattened from the forceful air of the aircrafts landing. “I’ll wait here for you guys, it takes a sec for me to start this thing up so give me a ring when you start packing up.”</p><p>We exited her Samson, Grace turning to Wainfleet, “Stay here with the ship. One idiot with a gun is enough.” Wainfleet shrugged, “Whatever you say doc.” We bid our ‘see you later’s and went on into the brush. Even though we were out in the forest, exposed and vulnerable to the elements and the wildlife, I couldn’t help but be in awe of the biodiversity around us. The lush looking emerald grass beneath our feet, the towering trees above us, the sounds of the animals in the area… “You alright over there Heaven?” Rylie said, breaking me out of my trance, a startled look on my face making her laugh. “You look like you might faint.” “I just might.. Have you seen so much life in one space..? It’s.. Beautiful.” I honestly would’ve cried right then and there had I not felt new presences around.</p><p>I observed our surroundings; not a leaf or branch out of place, bushes and flowers and undergrowth undisturbed. “You’re sensitive, aren’t you?” Norm said, gaining our groups attention. I scoffed, “If you mean emotionally, only on Tuesdays.” They laughed, even Jake gave a small chuckle from behind his gun as he searched around us. I continued as we began walking, “I don’t know.. I’ve always been.. Aware. I can feel the energies of places, people. The slightest change of mood in a room. I know when people walk up on me before they even say anything.. I have dreams of things that might or have already happened, deja vu, or sometimes I get dreams of what’s to come, or sometimes I get something akin to prophecies.” Everyone but Rylie and Jake looked up at me, skeptical, making me shrug, “I had a recurring dream about space the weeks before I decided to crash the Avatar tests. I dreamt about Rylie being my best bud too.” </p><p> </p><p>Rylie smiled as the rest looked confused which made her explain. “At the test I remember seeing Céleste and feeling like she would be really cool to hangout with. Imagine my surprise when she ended up being my roommate, and having her look at me like I was a ghost.” That swayed them enough for Norm to continue. “So what did you feel back there?” I looked around, the feeling of being watched still making my tail twitch. “Somebody’s watching us.’' “It’s probably hunters of the Omaticaya clan.” Grace said, her voice was calm, no apprehension whatsoever. “Really?” Jake said, Norm following up with questioning Grace, “How could they know we’re here?” “They’ve probably been watching us since we landed. It’s best not to worry about it, and not to shoot anything that moves while we’re out here. I’d hate to have to disentangle another political scandal.” Grace answered, certainty and something that sounded almost.. Regretful.</p><p>We walked for a while, until we stumbled into a clearing, with what looked like a collapsed building that had been overtaken by the nature around it. Vines and large flowers grew in and out of the structure, but when I took a closer look, I saw- “Bullet holes..” Jake said, shocked. “What the hell happened to this place…?” “This was my school..” Grace said, hardly above a whisper. “I taught a few of the clan’s younger ones English, as a means of creating diplomacy and some kind of common ground with the Na’vi..” She chuckled wistfully, entering the dilapidated hut. “They were so bright.. They picked up English faster than I could teach them..” She picked up a beat up book from the ground, Dr. Seuss’s “The Lorax”. “Norm bring the soil probe, in the yellow case.. Stingbats knock these off the shelves.. I leave them in hopes they’ll come back and read them..” Norm looked around, a soil probe in hand, testing the ground. “Why don’t they come back?” “The Na’vi learned as much about us as they needed to know.. At the time, one of the kids rallied a small group of them to set fire to a bulldozer and they tried to take shelter here when the RDA came after them..” My mind flashed back to the conversation I’d overheard all those years ago.</p><p><br/>My hand flew to my mouth with a short quiet gasp, “The princess..” Grace whipped around, “How do you know that?” “T-the day of the test they pulled me into a room to talk me over the program. I had made a phone call out in the hallway to let my parents know when a group of people walked past me and they were talking about it.. Oh Grace I’m so sorry..” She sighed, and we all stared at it for a while before she huffed, “Norm you done with the sample?” He confirmed it with a thumbs up, she nodded approvingly, “Good, we’ve got work to do and not a lot of daylight to do it.” They all walked in a direction and I went to follow, when I spotted a small flower growing from a vine on a nearby tree. It was blue with white spots on the inside and soft looking, it reminded me of a tiger lily, but with more petals. I quickly grabbed it, placed it on a wall of the building and prayed in Na’vi, hoping the deceased would hear an outsider like me. <em>“I pray Eywa has received you. May you rest in peace with the All Mother.”</em> I stayed for a minute longer and rushed off, not wanting to be left behind.</p><p>_____________<b>Third POV:</b></p><p> </p><p>While the group made their way to a good place for their work, they were being watched from the trees. Two pairs of eyes, one yellow, another green, observed these intruders as they crashed through the undergrowth. <em> “We will never catch prey with them scaring everything off.” </em> A soft male voice remarked. The other answered, female, a bit anxious but softer still, <em> “They won’t be here for long, they cannot be here after dark.” “We wait?” </em>A hum of agreement sounded, and they slinked off into the cover of the trees, watching, and waiting.</p><p> </p><p>____________<b>First POV:</b></p><p> </p><p>I watched as Grace pulled out equipment, Norm started setting up a scanner and probe, Rylie began collecting samples around us. I was supposed to be doing the same but Grace didn’t seem to mind me observing her. “Cool it marine, you’re making me nervous.” She remarked, chuckling at Jake’s seemingly constant swiveling, making him relax and lower the muzzle. Going back to her work, she swept away some dirt to expose some roots, “See how the roots of these two trees interact with each other?” Norm nodded as she continued, holding both our attentions until I noticed Jake wandering off. I internally sighed. ‘I’ll never catch a break with this dude.’ I put down my equipment softly so as to not disturb Grace and Norm, and followed my sibling.</p><p> </p><p>I saw him looking at a coral colored spiral plant, it was about shoulder height, and had completely captured his attention. But before I could call his name, he went to touch it, and the plants and the surrounding ones shot into the ground with a <em> SHOOP! </em> Making him and me laugh, until he kept doing it, one after the other. My gut started not feeling good, and before I could stop him, we heard a loud snort, and we looked up to see- “A hammerhead titanothere.. OhmyfuckinggoddessJakewhatinthefuckwereyouthinking-?” “I didn’t expect him to be there!” He hissed at me, raising his muzzle as he kept an eye on the beast in front of him. Grace’s voice came on over our radios, “Don’t shoot, you’ll piss it off.” “And it’s a she by the way.” I whispered to him.</p><p> </p><p>The gigantic animal lowered its 3 meter wide head, angrily pawing at the ground. “It’s already pissed off!-” Grace cut him off, “Trust me, shooting it won’t do anything, it's armor’s too thick.” “So what do we do?” “It’s a territorial threat display, don’t run or it’ll charge.” The hammerhead threw its head back and forth, splintering trees and ripping up the flora. We looked at each other, and nodded, a crazy gamble going through our minds. We looked up as it charged, and in sync we raised our arms, got as big as we could and screamed at the top of our lungs at it. It stopped in its tracks, and seemed surprised to our relieved joy. Jake went to celebrate when I noticed a shadow just out of view.</p><p>I turned, my face going pale blue at the sight of the thanator currently behind us. “Yeah! Who’s bad?-” I tapped his shoulder, gulping. “Um.. Jake..?” He turned, still unaware, “What? What are you looking like that.. For..” His jaw dropped as he spotted our next opponent walk out from behind the brush. A six legged panther from hell, powerful distensible jaws and piercing green eyes that spelled death. It growled sending shivers down my spine. “I really wouldn’t want his claws in my back.” “Run? Don’t run?” Grace’s voice came, fear in her tone. “Run, definitely run!!” And just like that we took off. </p><p><br/>It didn’t take long for it to catch up, I could feel the vibration in the ground from it’s pursuit. We shot through two trees, hoping it would catch itself between them and get stuck, only for it to be smart and go around it. We scrambled under some tangled roots- <em>CRASH!</em> It broke the roots and sent me flying, Jake landed underneath it and started shooting, making the beast bellow in pain and rage before swiping the gun out of his hand. He went to climb a tree and get out of it’s way when it caught Jake’s backpack in midair and swung him back and forth. “Jake! Leave the pack-let’s go!” I said, scrambling to my feet, hearing him hit the ground and following me. “Where to now Egghead?” I growled as we sprung past trees and vines, “I’m not the one disturbing the natural peace of a hostile environment for shits n’ giggles-!” “I didn’t think either of them would be there!” I almost slapped him, “NEXT TIME THINK ABOUT YOUR SURROUNDINGS YOU <em>SKXAWNG</em>!”</p><p>A roar sounded behind us and we took that as our ‘shut up and escape’ signal. I was quickly growing tired of running for my life when- “There! A river!” He pointed to our left, a river of crystal clear water coming into view. “You sure about this?” “You got any better ideas?!” The thanator burst out of the trees behind us and it was time to go. We made a mad dash to the river’s edge and dove in. We both kept a hand on each other as we sped downstream, the current was strong and tugged us in each direction. The thanator hadn’t given up on us however. “Dive!” I shouted and we went under, a massive paw with giant, knife like claws hit the ground next to us. </p><p>This continued until Jake looked up, “Heaven? Hang on..” “Hang onto what-? Oh goddess..!” A thundering waterfall was approaching, and the thanator was closer to us than I felt comfortable. “Waterfall?” I asked again. He understood, nodding. “Waterfall.” We both gave our clasped hands a squeeze and made the jump, the thanator swiping the air above us as we tumbled to the bottom, hitting the lake below.</p><p>_______________ <b>Third POV:</b></p><p> </p><p>Two pairs of eyes watched from nearby trees as a sturmbeest had padded up to the lake, leaning towards the water’s edge to stop for a drink when it was startled by nearby noise. It dashed away as two drenched Na’vi dressed in strange clothes came up from their tumble. The woman had pulled herself to the edge and coughed, huffing with exhaustion. “Never again.” Her voice made her male companion’s ears perk up as he panted from fatigue. “Trust me, never again sounds like a good idea.” They both tiredly chuckled and laid there for a moment hoping to get a bit dry as the daylight began fading. The male groaned as he stood up, wearily leaning down to offer the woman a hand. “Come on Heaven, we gotta find cover.” </p><p> </p><p>The woman groaned as she grasped his outstretched hand. “Fine.. I’d hate to have to patch myself up if we left ourselves exposed..” She pulled herself up and looked around, doing a double take in a peculiar spot. “What’s wrong?” He asked. She kept staring but shook her head, “Nothing.. Just wondering if those eyes have left..” The man waited a moment longer, tail twitching anxiously. “And..?” “.. Jury’s still out..” She answered, squinting in hopes of seeing better but with the forest getting dark, it was a lost cause. “I’ll let you know if they reach a verdict..” She said, wrapping an arm around her companions waist and beginning to walk away. </p><p><br/>In the trees however, the eyes kept watching. <em>“She almost saw us. And she has been aware of our following since they came. She is skilled.” </em>A scoff could be heard, the female  replying angrily, <em>“And? It does not matter. They would have avoided being here if they had not disturbed the angtsík.” “What do you suggest?” </em>Silence, and then the female pulled her bow and arrow from her shoulder, the male following her lead. The two Na’vi were not yet out of sight, and just when they would let their arrows fly, two woodsprites landed on the tip of their arrows, stopping the two in their tracks. The woodsprites floated off, and with that the two continued in the direction that the strange Na’vi left in.</p><p>____________<b>First POV:</b></p><p> </p><p>I watched as Jake hacked away at the end of a branch he’d just cut, in an attempt to make a spear. I was keeping an eye out for other animals that might wanna snack on us. It was starting to get dark, and it was getting cooler in the growing evening. I tried to make myself warm, as I wrapped my tail around my waist and hugged myself as tight as I could. I guess Jake noticed as he pulled off his big green button down, cut it into a crop top and handed it to me. I smiled in thanks, putting it on and feeling a lot better. “So, what’s the plan?” I asked, growing bored of sitting. “We’re gonna make camp somewhere and tell Doc when we get back where we are so they can come get us in the morning.”</p><p> </p><p>I nodded, seemed like a sound plan, until I saw him wrap the rest of the cut up shirt around the end of a fallen branch he’d found. “Jake..? Whaaat are you doing..?” He tied it off and looked around. “Daylight’s fading. Gotta have some way to see.” “We’re in our avatars, we’ll be accustomed to the amount of light around us and besides if you start a-” “I won’t burn down the forest don’t worry. I need a little extra light to make sure nothing’s around.” I let him continue, sighing heavily. ‘I know we won’t die for real.. But I’d rather not have to go through another near death experience today..’ He stood up ready to go, a lit torch creating a circle of light around us. ‘Come to me, eat me I’m stupid..’ I thought to myself, giving up on the idea of our avatars surviving the night.</p><p>We walked for a while, Jake not being happy with any space we came across. Finally, I had it. “Jake, my feet are gonna start killing me soon if we don’t find somewhere to be. Can we move along?” He conceded, and stuck the torch in the ground, seeming to be content with where we were. I sat down on the grass, laying down and stretching till my joints popped. I sighed contently, getting up and positioning myself to pop my back when I heard twigs breaking somewhere. “Did you hear that?” I whispered, straining to discern the noise from the rest of the buzz of activity around us. “Hear what?” My brother answered, clearly not paying attention.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m.. I heard something.. Something’s coming..” He hopped up, spear in hand. I pointed in the direction we came from and we stood there, waiting. He went to speak when I shushed him, the noise was getting louder, and from seemingly everywhere. It wasn’t until I felt the hairs on my tail stand up that I turned, seeing pairs of green eyes surrounding us. “Jake..” He looked up and saw we were caught. He cursed, seeing a group of 10, 6 legged animals with sharp teeth slinking towards us. “Viperwolves.” I cursed, we did not have the means to defend ourselves, and this was gonna be a tough fight. </p><p>We stood back to back, the spear in his hand, the torch in mine, we feinted hits at the group, hoping to scare them off when one leaped at me. “Oh no you don’t-!” I turned the torch sideways and it snapped its jaws around it, I threw it off and out of the way, it landed on its side with a yelp. “It really breaks my heart to have to kill them to stay alive.” “You’d rather we become viperwolf food?” Jake said, catching another one in the side with his spear. “I tried to tell you not to light the torch but nooooo I’m just the egghead-!” I swung the torch at another viperwolf, catching it in the face with the flames. “I’m so sorry-!” “Don’t apologize-!” Then they swarmed us. We fought them off as best we could, kicking them away and ripping them off of each other but one bit me in my left arm, pain exploding from the pierced flesh, I dropped the torch and the flame went out, “Ah! Jake!” I punched the animal between the eyes, it let go and shook its head, most likely disoriented.</p><p>We stood back to back again, panting. My arm was bleeding, my hair was a mess, Jake didn’t look no better. All hope would’ve been lost had two Na’vi not leapt down from the canopy above us and went to work on the predators. While they dispatched the viperwolves and scared the rest off, Jake sat me down by a tree and inspected my wounds. I hissed with pain, “Don’t touch! It might get infected-!” “Well it's a good thing I kept some fabric and water on me yeah?” He went to work, pulling a small bottle of water and a small roll of gauze out of his pants pocket. He cleaned my arm as best as he could, and wrapped it tightly without cutting off circulation.</p><p>I sighed in relief, “Excellent work Dr. Sully.” He chuckled helping me stand, “I learned from best Lacouronne.” I smiled tiredly at him, when I noticed the two Na’vi were praying over the animals bodies. I saw Jake go over to them and try and talk but they weren’t interested, continuing to pray. I pulled him away from them, whispering. “They probably don’t kill without it being necessary. They’re sending the animals spirits to their deity.” “They’re praying for the things that almost killed us?” “They wouldn’t have almost killed us if you had listened to me and not lit a torch.” “Well I-!” He was cut off, seeing the two Na’vi standing and making their way elsewhere.</p><p>I went to walk away as well when he grabbed my other arm, “Come on.” He said. I was confused, seeing the determined look in his eyes. “Oh goddess help me..” I said, tired beyond belief, reluctantly following him as he called out to the two Na’vi that raced away from us. “Hey-wait a sec-!” This went on for a moment until I got too tired and slowed down. Jake chased down the female Na’vi, making me question where her friend went until I looked up and saw him. Stretched out on a low hanging branch, his tail flicking lazily just above my head, his bright yellow-green eyes watched me, and he had a small smile on his face. He had full cupid’s bow lips, ample cheekbones, and long eyelashes. I hated to say it but damn he was fine.</p><p>He watched me, curiosity in his eyes. I was vaguely aware of the woman shouting at my brother, when the Na’vi man jumped down gracefully from his perch, stopping in front of me. Though I was tall in my avatar, a good 9’, he seemingly towered above me, though that might’ve just been the intensity of his presence. I could feel his surprise at my avatar’s inheriting my sapphire blue irises. It would be considered a birth defect amongst the people, blue eyes have never happened amongst the Na’vi as far as I knew. He looked entranced and I would’ve looked down but his eyes held mine so intensely that it almost took my breath away. <em>“Who are you?” </em> He asked in Na’vi, making me suddenly conscious of how my own Na’vi sounded to native ears. ‘Grace said it was aight..’ <em>“I am Céleste Lacouronne Sully. May Eywa smile upon our first meeting..”</em> I said, my name sounded almost musical in Na’vi though it was hard to translate. He in turn placed a hand over his heart and bowed, <em>“I am Ku’hia te Lääí Eynguo’itan, of the Omaticaya. Your Na’vi is good for an outsider.” </em>I responded with a small smile. <em>“I still have much to learn.”</em></p><p>He looked like he was going to say something when a small, white, fluffy jellyfish looking thing appeared in front of my face. I almost jumped away from it when two more appeared. And then 3 more, and then a large group of them floated down from out of nowhere and they seemed to swarm me. I laughed slightly with delight and incredulousness, I was covered in them, one had even landed on my nose. I noticed Jake had been covered as well, distinctly hearing the woman call them “<em> atokirina </em>”. “Woodsprites..?” I said to myself, watching as one landed in my hand, light as a feather. I could barely feel their weight as they seemed to give me little kisses, before floating off in sync into the air.</p><p>I looked at Jake, his woodsprites doing the same. We locked eyes as the woman and Ku’hia locked eyes. They nodded to each other, and Ku’hia looked at me, offered me a hand. “Come.” He said, his accented English like velvet to my ears. ‘Yes sir.’ I thought, nodding and placing my hand in his. I went to take a step when I got lightheaded and had to still myself. <em>“I’m sorry, I feel faint, just a moment please..”</em> I was suddenly winded, the exertion of today seemed to finally overpower the adrenaline. He looked over at me, saw that Jake and the Na’vi woman had already almost gone out of sight and nodded to himself. He leaned down, swept my legs out from under me and picked me up in his arms.</p><p>I figured if I hadn’t felt like I was gonna pass out I would have blushed, but the idea of not having to walk on my poor exhausted feet was too much to pass up. (Especially in the arms of this 10’ tall god? Goddess above.) He flew like the wind to catch up with Jake and his partner, and though I figured I was weighing him down a bit he didn’t seem to be winded. From time to time I glanced up at him, taking in his features. His facial structure seemed soft but defined, framed by his long braided and beaded hair, the bioluminescent dots that decorated his face glowed brightly. ‘He literally was cut from marble you can’t convince me otherwise.’ I thought to myself, not sure I was seeing what I was seeing. I took to looking around us, smiling tiredly but awestruck, the forest had become a light show.</p><p><br/>The bioluminescence of the animals made sense now, everything was aglow. Bright blues and greens, purples, I thought I saw orange catch my eye too but I was too tired to really observe everything. ‘Why am I so tired..?’ I figured I’d take a few minutes to rest in his arms, curling my face inward to his chest and trying to catch a few seconds sleep when we came to a halt. I heard someone speak, “<em>Tsu’tey what are you doing? They’re our captives!</em>” I looked up wearily to come face to face with the tip of a very sharp looking arrow. We were surrounded by hunters on direhorses, stern looking faces behind big bows and arrows. Ku’hia leaned down to my ear, “<em>I suggest you stay still, they are not friendly like me.</em>” I looked at him with a small smile, his reassuring words enough to calm my nerves and I returned to putting my face in his chest.</p><p>“<em> These demons are forbidden here, and I will kill them to teach the others a lesson. </em> ” I heard the pull of a bowstring and I was going to make a feeble attempt when the woman said, “ <em> Stop! There has been a sign. This is a matter for the Tsahik. </em>” That seemed to do the trick, and with minimal grumbling and stony silence, they allowed us in. My tail quivered in anticipation, curling around what I thought was my leg. However Ku’hia’s soft chuckle indicated that it was his arm that my tail wrapped around, much to my dismay and embarrassment. My ears flattened slightly, me murmuring an apology as my tail curled around my waist instead.</p><p>Their Hometree was enormous. I couldn’t see everything, since it was so dark except for the light of the fire behind a Na’vi man. He wore a red necklace garment, and had feathers and beads woven into his hair. This seemed to be the <em> olo’eyktan </em> , only the clan leader and <em> Tsahik </em> of the clans wore red as it was a rare color among the Na’vi. The olo’eyktan spoke, his voice gruff and commanding. <em> “Why do you bring these creatures here?” </em> The woman spoke in turn, <em> “I was going to kill them but there was a sign from Eywa.” “I have said no dreamwalker will come here to offend our home! Their alien smell fills my nose.” </em>I would’ve chuckled but this was a serious thing happening.</p><p>I patted Ku’hia’s chest, speaking softly, “<em> I think I’m well enough to stand, thank you. </em> ” He nodded, gently putting me down, my feet touching the soft floor. Luckily Jake was next to me already, putting his arm around my waist and letting me put my weight on him. The woman spoke again, <em> “Father, many atokirina came to these aliens.” </em> Jake whispered to me, “What’re they saying?” I whispered back, “She’s trying to convince her father not to kill us.” His eyes widened, “Her father?” I suspected he was going to try and introduce himself, but I placed a hand on his chest and shook my head, “Don’t be a moron Jake, they don’t shake hands as a greeting here. They might see that as a threat. They already don’t like us as it is.” </p><p>He nodded and a voice sounded from out of nowhere, <em>“Step back!” </em>A Na’vi woman wearing red jewelry came down from a staircase, the air about her was severe and as friendly as an executioner. I whispered to Jake, “That’s the <em>Tsahik</em>, she’s their spiritual leader..” The woman who I knew now was the daughter of the clan leader, turned to us, “That is mother, she is the <em>Tsahik</em>, who interprets the will of Eywa.” Jake looked at me, a question on his face but I shushed him, indicating I’d tell him later. He nodded as she walked up to us, <em>”I will take a look at these aliens.”</em>  She said, unimpressed by our appearance. She walked around us, grabbed our tails loosely and observed Jake’s face and then looked at me, recognition and surprise crossing her face, but as quick as it had come it was gone. She pulled out a sharp needle like tool, poked Jake in his chest and tasted his blood, and repeated the action with me.</p><p>She looked at us both for a minute before asking, “What are you called?” We looked at each other, nodded again and I spoke. “I am Céleste Lacouronne Sully. This is my brother, Jake Sully.” She looked at me with what I could only describe as quiet fascination. “Why have you come to us?” I went to answer when Jake cut me off. “We have come to learn. And my sister’s been hurt while we were out in the forest, we were hoping for help.” She replied, “We have tried to teach other Sky People. It is hard to fill a cup that is already full.” Jake was quick to refute that, “My cup’s empty trust me, Dr. Augustine can tell you, I’m no scientist.” I couldn’t help but chuckle a bit and chime in, “Today’s events would agree with you, <em> skxawng </em>.” He looked at me indignantly, and I smiled in his face as innocently as I could manage. </p><p>She caught my little bit of Na’vi, but didn’t comment as she continued, “What are you?” “I don’t know.. I was a marine, uh, a warrior of the Jarhead clan.” A voice, Tsu’tey, cut him off. <em> “A warrior? I could kill him easily!” </em>  I went to bare my teeth in his direction when the leader stopped him, <em> “No! This is the first warrior dreamwalker we have seen. We need to learn more about this one.” </em> The <em> Tsahik </em> nodded much to Tsu’tey’s dismay, and she turned to me. “What are you?” She asked. I cleared my throat and with as much confidence as I could muster I answered, <em> “I am a scientist and scholar of the.. Jarhead clan. I have learned about different peoples and histories on our planet, and I have come to learn about your people as well. If you will have me.” </em> I bowed with a hand over my heart and almost tipped forward, my exhaustion catching up to me. </p><p>Jake steadied me again, my tired smile indication enough that I needed to lay down. He picked me up, and said to the <em>Tsahik</em>, “My sister’s cup has never filled. They tried to fill it back home, but they didn’t have anything new to teach her, so they sent her here.” The <em>Tsahik</em> nodded thoughtfully and answered, “We must learn about this one as well. Let us see if her cup can be filled by the People.” She then turned to the leader’s daughter, <em>“Daughter, you will teach the warrior our ways, to speak and walk like we do.” </em>The daughter went to protest,<em> “What? That’s not fair I only-!” </em> <em>Tsahik </em>turned to her, her tone final. <em>“It has been decided!” </em>The woman huffed angrily, her tail twitching as she glared at Jake. She then turned to my brother, “My daughter will teach you the ways. Learn well Jakesully. Let us see if we can cure your insanity.” He nodded, and the clan leader nodded in approval, <em>“The scholar will be taught by Ku’hia. I’m certain they will get along well enough for her to learn something.”</em></p><p>I blushed slightly, and with that and some orders of who needed to do what for the remainder of the night, the crowd broke. Ku’hia and the woman came over, Ku’hia spoke to Jake, his soft voice had almost pulled me from staring at the woman’s face. I hadn’t seen it well enough before but now that I got a good look at her.. She was.. “You’re devastatingly beautiful..” I said to her in a whisper, my lack of energy preventing me from keeping my thoughts where they belonged. She looked like I had smacked her in the face, and before I could apologize, Jake transferred me from his arms to Ku’hia’s. “I will take her to a healer. If <em> Tsahik </em> is not busy she will see to her. A bite from the <em> nantang </em> should not go unseen for long.” With that, we all nodded to each other, and we split off. </p><p><em> “What is her name..?” </em> I asked him, trying to stay awake. He chuckled, “Her name is Neytiri. She is the daughter of <em> Tsahik </em> and <em> Olo’eyktan </em> .” I nodded, “That makes her a princess, yes?” He nodded, “She is the youngest princess.. The older one died, as you are aware.” I looked up at him confused as to how he would know, before I realized it, “You and Neytiri were the ones that watched us in the forest. Aren’t you? That’s how you were close enough to save us.” He nodded with a smile. “You were very brave to avoid <em> palulukan </em> and to fight the <em> nantang </em> with so little. It was amusing to hear you call your brother a <em> skxawng </em> as well.” I laughed a bit and saw we had approached an alcove, the entrance covered in leaved vines.</p><p><em><br/>“Tsahik? May I enter?”</em>She called him in, and upon entering I felt a shudder go through me, the energy in here was palpable. She was the spiritual leader for a reason. The room itself was small but spacious, with a shelf-like structure on one side of the room, filled with what looked like different colored herbs and small ceramic jars, to a table and resting place on the other side. She looked up, spotting me. She motioned for him to put me down in front of her, and he went to wait outside. She stared at me for a moment, her intense gaze seemed to see right through me. <em>“Your eyes.. I have not seen a Na’vi with eyes like these before..” </em>I shrugged, unsure what to say,<em> “I happen to be an exception..” </em>She hummed in agreement, changing the subject,<em> “You are injured, yes?” </em>I nodded,<em>“A nantang bit me while I was protecting my brother.” </em>She nodded,<em> “Your Na’vi is good. You learn this with the Sky People?”</em> I nodded as she unraveled the makeshift bandage my brother made.</p><p>My eyebrows reached the ceiling at the sight; the bite mark had puffed up and swollen to angry red and purple. “I didn’t realize the bite would do so much..” The <em> Tsahik </em> nodded, “ <em> Nantang </em> have venom in teeth. I am surprised you stayed awake.” I laughed, a little loopy from fatigue. “You wouldn’t believe how hard it was.” She went to her shelf, pulled some herbs and leaves from the cubbys, went to her table and pulled a bowl with a small club like rock in it, a crude mortar and pestle, and began mashing it all together. “This will pull the venom from your wound, and it will help ease the pain while you sleep.” I nodded in thanks as she slathered it on the wound, and wrapped a leaf around it to secure it. “There.. Now, do something about those.. Clothes.” </p><p>I looked down and realized she was right; my tee shirt and the button down Jake gave me was ripped, my shorts weren’t in great shape either. I looked up at her sheepishly, scratching my head, “I’ve had a bit of a rough day.” I said, feeling better already, that paste worked wonders. She gave me something that looked like a smile and pulled a chest looking thing over. It was made of dark wood and had a simple latch on it. She opened it, and pulled a top and a loincloth of sorts out of it and handed it to me. “You may wear these. They should fit you well.” I nodded, taking them and bowing slightly.</p><p>“<em> Irayo, Tsahik.” </em>I thanked her, and she nodded, “You may call me Mo’at.” I smiled shyly and nodded, bidding her goodbye and walking out of her.. Room? Office? Anyway.. I wasn’t sure of where I could change, and I saw Ku’hia exchanging what looked like a heated debate with another male a little ways away from Mo’at’s alcove. In comparison to Ku’hia, I would say the male he spoke to was his opposite. He had sharp facial features, bright yellow eyes, and what looked like a scar on his cheek. I didn’t want to interrupt, but Ku’hia spotted me, and bid the other a hasty goodbye and walked over, much to the man’s angered dismay.</p><p><br/>“Do you feel better?” I nodded, smiling softly at how gentle he seemed to be. “Yes, I do, and Mo’at was kind enough to let me use some clothes.” He smiled and I couldn’t help but look away, “Do you know where I can change..?” He nodded, “<em>Yes, if you go past the squatting grounds and across the creek to the Tree of Voices, there will be a bit of brush behind it.”</em> I nodded and looked around, ready to change but not sure where to go. He chuckled, and led the way.</p><p>_________________</p><p> </p><p>After I had changed, fixed my hair and joined Ku’hia, Neytiri, and Jake around the fire pit, they passed us a leaf filled with what looked like- “Hey this is pretty good. What is this?” I looked at Jake and did my best not to chuckle; he was happily eating the strange new food, with childlike fascination. Neytiri looked over, passive and apathetic. “We call it, <em> teylu </em>. It is what you call.. Beetle larvae?” His face dropped as he looked at the wriggling bits on his leaf and he looked at me like ‘Are you seeing this right now?’ I couldn’t help but laugh, catching Neytiri’s and Ku’hia’s attention. Jake smiled at me, happy to see I wasn’t going to fall victim to the viperwolf’s bite. “Oh you should’ve seen your face, man! I wish I could’ve taken a picture.” </p><p>I wiped an imaginary tear off my eye and he lightly punched me in my uninjured arm, “Yeah yeah, make fun of me will you? You try it.” I looked at him, a challenge was presented, and I was never one to back down. I picked up a <em> teylu </em> , looked Jake square in his eye and popped it in my mouth, chewing deliberately to show I wasn’t taking the easy route. My brows came together as I tried to figure out the taste, how familiar it was. It’s texture was that of jumbo shrimp, but the taste reminded me of.. “Frog legs..? Escargot..?” I thought aloud to myself, not missing Jake’s look of disbelief. “Aha! I’ve got it, it tastes like gator!” He facepalmed as Ku’hia laughed, “You have a creature back home that reminds you of <em> teylu </em>?” I nodded, happily eating more along with fresh fruit and roasted veggies as I explained what gator was to my new friend and mentor.</p><p>After the meal was done and everyone went to bed, Ku’hia led me to what looked like a leaf hammock. He slid in his hammock easily, but I was a bit wary. “Are you sure it won’t swing out from under me?” He nodded with an amused smile and reached for my hand, “Come, I will hold you so you will not fall.” I bit my lip, I’ve smiled in his face enough times for one evening. I grabbed his hand and tentatively stepped in. The hammock wobbled a bit but with his help I slid in and sighed. The leaf was soft, and the sides of it pulled inward like a cocoon, it was nice. I looked up, Ku’hia watching my childish delight at figuring out my new sleeping arrangement.</p><p>I blushed and smiled, “W-We have something like this back home..” He hummed a ‘oh yes?’ in response. I nodded, turning over to face him a bit more. “Yes, it’s called a hammock, it’s a woven piece of fabric that is strung between two trees. People relax in them, read in them, sometimes they nap in them...” I looked around seeing the people above and below me laying down, soundly asleep. I looked at him shyly, a nervous chuckle bubbling up my throat. He continued to look at me, intrigue and fascination and curiousness swirled in his eyes. “Maybe we should sleep, yeah..?” I said, realizing this dream had to end at some point. He nodded and went to lay down when I stopped him, “Oh Ku’hia wait.. I might not wake up when you call me in the morning, I.. it’s hard to explain, but I’ll wake up as soon as I can.. But I’ll be ready to go the minute I get up.. Okay?”</p><p><br/>He gave me another smile, <em>“Sleep well, Céleste.” </em>He closed his eyes and soon his breathing deepened, and he was asleep. I looked around one more time, grinning. I was really here. Among the People. ‘I can’t believe it.’ I thought, and with that, I let my mind go, and felt the familiar pull from one body to the other. At first I couldn’t open my eyes, I heard people calling my name but I still wasn’t completely there. Suddenly, someone opened my eye and shined a light in it. I blinked rapidly and coughed, I felt breathless. “That’s right, come on back Heaven.” I heard Rylie’s voice and with help I slowly sat up, “You and your brother were dug in there like ticks. What happened?” I looked and saw Jake in his wheelchair, and smiled at him. “Grace. You won’t believe where we’re at.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey, it's been a minute. Things are a bit busy, but I'll be updating regularly once I settle down at home. Here's chapter 3, hope you enjoy it.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>As Jake and I recounted the tale of our run in with the thanator, battle with the viperwolves, our meeting the woodsprites and hesitant admission into the People, I could tell that everyone had mixed feelings about it all. Hell, both of us had weird feelings about it, at least to my knowledge. When we were done we all looked at Grace, her face was screwed up in intense concentration as she took a drag from her cigarette and exhaled tiredly. “Well, on the positive side, your avatars are safe and won’t be eaten in the middle of the night.” “The negative side..?” Rylie asked, not entirely sure where she was going with her thought. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Grace was silent and shook her head, glancing at Jake. “Negative side is that now we’re the Jarhead clan and this idiot’s our representative. But at least Heaven here can act as a deterrent..” I knew what she meant to say though. ‘Quaritch..’ I thought uneasily. Jake had to report to him, or they’d check the log from Jake’s avatar if need be. Grace walked away mumbling to herself while the rest of us went to dinner. It wasn’t too late and we managed to get something to eat. If you could call the crap they gave us food. Today’s meal was tinged green this time. Yummy. I’d rather have another helping of </span>
  <em>
    <span>teylu</span>
  </em>
  <span>. “What were they like?” Rylie asked, I could see she was hoping for something I didn’t put in the story. I shrugged, “They were.. I don’t know, they were what you’d expect after having put up with us ‘Sky People’ for so long. But they’re.. Reasonable. Kind. I’m surprised they took us in without much fuss.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>My brother looked at me, “‘Not much fuss’? You call them debating on whether to kill us or not is ‘not much fuss’?” I shrugged again, “Tsu’tey would’ve killed us on the spot if Neytiri hadn’t convinced him to let us in. And even before then they could’ve killed us both while we were out in the forest.” “They? Who’s they?” Riley cut in, eyeing the both of us. “Neytiri, the princess, and Ku’hia, he’s a warrior from the clan who was with Neytiri when they started tracking us.” Nobody else caught the lift in my tone, nobody but Rylie of course. She looked at me, a raised brow and sly smirk on her face. “Ku’hia huh? What’s the story on him?” I shrugged, my shoulders were getting tired.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How the heck should I know? I just met the guy today.” I took a sip of some water to avoid her gaze, she always had a way of pulling out information from me. It’s her eyes, so expressive and so full of conviction, I couldn’t ever escape from telling her what she wanted to hear. “Not with the way he was looking at you when we were at dinner.” I whipped my head around, Jake’s snickering grin was enough to make me sock him in the gut. But before I could protest Rylie was ready to run with whatever Jake told her. “Oh really?? Tell me more.” “Well-” I slapped a hand over his mouth. “You say one word, and I’ll fight you.” He put his hands up in defense. “I just thought it was interesting to see how comfortable he looked with you in his arms-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rylie gasped, her hands covering the widening grin on her face. “Céleste Lacouronne Sully, you went and got a clan boyfriend on your first day out in the forest and you were gonna keep it from me?” She pretended to faint, leaning over on Norm who looked like he was in a particularly sour mood. “All our years of best friendship mean nothing to you, is that it?” I rolled my eyes, “No Carr, and you know that. But you know how you get whenever it comes to me and guys.” “Because you’ve never been on a date! Never been kissed! Never been wooed, wined and dined! It’s a travesty, I’d say it’s cause you’re gay, but no one peaks your interest-!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I heaved a sigh as she went on.. And on.. And on.. Every time we get on the subject of my nonexistent dating life it’s like it’s a crime to not want to actively participate in the woes of young love. It’s not like I never had the option, nor the means to engage with any human of either side of the sexual spectrum, or the will to do so.. I just was never interested. I had my brothers and family for company, and what friends I did have were friends of Tommy and Jake. All their friends knew not to mess with me though, my siblings were quite adept with the “protective brothers” thing, not that I cared, I was so focused on learning and passing high school.. The idea of being in love kinda passed me by. Did I mind? No, not at all actually. Far as I was concerned, I felt I had my priorities in order.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That night.. I dreamt again... I woke up in the forest. The sun filtering through the treetops, noises of the animals and activity in the distance, peaceful, serene.. Silence.. An eerily empty silence.. And then smoke.. Flames.. Tendrils of fire licked up the trunks of trees and vines, bushes and flowers eaten away to ash. I went to get up and run, but I saw a direhorse on fire, galloping through the trees in slow motion. I could hear my heart beating in my chest, it was suffocatingly hot, the smoke made it hard to breathe, the fire closed in but I couldn’t move- </span>
  <em>
    <span>Céleste.. </span>
  </em>
  <span>I heard a voice.. It sounded familiar.. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Céleste..! </span>
  </em>
  <span>I couldn’t put my finger on it- “Céleste..! Wake up!” I gasped as I woke up, being shaken out of my sleep, the fog of my nightmare fading away as I came to, seeing Rylie’s concerned and worried face brought all of me to reality. I was awake. In our room. Not burning alive.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I took several deep breaths, finally noticing the tears on my cheeks. Wiping them away, I couldn’t help but cry a bit more. Rylie sat on my bed, pulled me in close and rubbed my back. I curled up and leaned on her, trying to calm down. “You wanna talk about it..?” I shook my head, sighing. “That’ll be a story for another time.” She nodded, and began slowly rocking back and forth. We haven’t done this in some time, I haven’t had a nightmare in a while. But soon I went back to sleep, my nightmare filed away for later.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I woke up a couple hours after that, it was about 5:30 in the morning, the sun hadn’t come up yet and seemingly nobody else was up. I looked over at Rylie, relaxed and still asleep. I gently wriggled out from under her, and went to go for a run. We’re not allowed outside after dark, fear of Pandora’s wildlife straying too close to get a midnight snack keeps everyone inside. ‘But after everything I saw yesterday..’ Before I could make up my mind about breaking into the outside, I spotted Dr. Augustine in the hallway. She looked tired as she walked into the link room, a cup of coffee in her hand and a cigarette in her mouth. ‘I’m surprised she’s not dead yet.’ I thought to myself as I caught up with her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dr. Augustine!” I called out, waving to her as I ran over. She waved back, placing her coffee on a table. “Lacouronne, didn’t think you’d be up so early.” “I couldn’t sleep.” She nodded, “Nice to know I’m not the only one..” She looked me up and down, observing my workout fit. “Where were you going?” “Just going out for an early morning run, need a warm up before my first day as a clan member in training.” She hummed in agreement, going over to my link machine, firing it up and checking the settings. “If you want to warm up, I suggest you go over there. They’ll be waking up here in a little while if they haven’t already.” I nodded, smiling as I pulled off my shoes and laid down in the chamber.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where’s that brother of yours?” I shrugged, “He might be getting up soon.” She grumbled something as I pulled the biometrics over me, I got comfy in the gel, and she grinned through her cigarette. “Let me know how he does today will you?” I chuckled and nodded, she closed the lid, and I slipped into the slumbering body so many miles away. When I felt the sensation of the leaf around me, I opened my eyes a bit. I could see through the dark of the early morning, some had gotten up, some were still asleep. I looked over to find Ku’hia was gone. ‘Must’ve gone down to get breakfast.’ I unfurled my leaf cocoon and faced my first challenge. Getting out of this thing without dying. Yay.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I got to my knees, slowly stood up, and grabbed a branch above me and swung myself up to the otherside. I smiled with satisfaction, ‘Dismount, 10 points.’ Going down the spiral stairway of Hometree, and couldn’t help but marvel at such a natural wonder. The tree itself towered miles above the forest around us, the ginormous monster of a tree and the miles of smaller trees around us gave me the impression of a parent overlooking a lot of kids. 'Sounds torturous.' Even the rainforest back home couldn’t have compared to this. I made it to the bottom and spotted a few people at the fire pits, raking the coals and putting fruits and veggies into cooking pots. I sat down at the edge of one with a dying fire, hoping it wasn’t rude to partake in keeping the fire ablaze. I blew on the coals gently, coaxing the embers into a nice cooking fire.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Though my nightmare played in the back of my head, I couldn’t help but stare into the orange and red colors, mesmerized by the flame’s dangerous dance. I heard someone approach, “You are up early.” I looked up and saw Mo’at, her stern face held no singular emotion, just passive. I shrugged to her, “I just wasn’t able to sleep well.. But I’m rested enough for whatever come’s my way today.” I gave her a small smile and watched as she took the spot beside me. “I hope you are. We took great risk in allowing you and your brother to stay.” “I’m aware, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tsahik</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I hope we do not disappoint you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She chuckled humorlessly to herself, sitting in silence for a moment before turning to me. “Tell me child, do you dream?” I nodded absentmindedly, “Don’t we all?” “No, not all People dream like others dream.” I looked at her again, her face was passive, but her voice gave the implication of something.. Like she was searching. “I.. I dream often.” “Of what..?” I wasn’t sure why she bothered, but I could see in her eyes that she was serious in her inquiry. I guessed I somehow had an answer for her. “Well.. Some dreams I have are from the past.. Some are predictions of things that will happen or have already happened..” I was going to say more, but I spotted Ku’hia walking in, heading to the staircase. I waved to him, catching his eye, and he smiled as he came over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I turned to Mo’at, but before I could speak she stood up, “I must get on with my duties. I will see you at dinner. Enjoy your first day, CélesteLacouronne-” “You can just call me Heaven.” I cut her off, laughing a bit. Ku’hia had walked up at this point, not wanting to interrupt our conversation, waving me a small ‘hello’. “Heaven?” Mo’at stopped, confused. I snapped to myself, the Na’vi don’t have a word for heaven, they’re not a judeo-religious society, and even then they just don’t have it in their vocabulary, not necessarily, they have a word for ‘stairway to heaven’ but not just heaven, kinda shit is that?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I stumbled for a bit trying to formulate an equivalent. “Um.. think of my name as.. </span>
  <em>
    <span>ikinimaya, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but without the staircase.. It’s more than that, like </span>
  <em>
    <span>ngip</span>
  </em>
  <span> but above us, past the border of our skies, endless and full of stars and moons and planets.. Continuing without end.” I looked over at Mo’at and Ku’hia, they’re expressions were.. Positively surprised, enchanted, if not still a bit confused too. Mo’at turned to my mentor, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>She will not need much help with her language lessons from what I can see. I believe you will have the easier job out of you and Neytiri.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> They both laughed and I blushed with a grin. She bid us goodbye, and went about her business. The clearing was starting to slowly get more active, children and parents at the fire pits and hunters gathering for the day's excursion.. Just so full of life.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ku’hia sat next to me, his tail lazily swaying back and forth. “What were you trying to explain?” “The meaning of my first name.” He made a sound of approval, pulling a big purple fruit from his bag. The purple skin gives the impression of a citrus, but you can eat it like an apple or a pear. “I don’t know if you’ve eaten already, but I found this while out on my hunt. I thought you might like it.” I smiled in delight, “We grow these on the base, I like them a lot. May I-?” I pointed at the knife strapped to his chest and he chuckled a bit, “You know how to use that?” I looked at him, his lighthearted face made me grin. “I actually happen to be quite adept with sharp tools thank you.” I cut the fruit in 6 equal pieces, and it’s bright cyan colored flesh was just so pretty. “Do you know what this fruit is called?” “Uh.. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Zaxtrle?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nods, taking a bite of it and the blue juices spilled down his chin. I smiled and did the same. We ate till I was full and for my first day he showed me what everything was, what everyone did, and the basic structure of the clan. From </span>
  <em>
    <span>Olo’eyktan</span>
  </em>
  <span> to </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tsahik,</span>
  </em>
  <span> to the hunters, </span>
  <em>
    <span>taronyu</span>
  </em>
  <span>, the parents and children and the elders. They had artisans working with clay and weavers and jewelry makers, and he noticed how excited I was to see them. We went about Hometree, him teaching me where everything was, and after we sat down to eat for lunch, Neytiri and Jake had come from the forest. Neytiri looked passive as ever, Jake looked ready to pass out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You alright big bro?” I asked him as he sat down, taking a bite out of some <em>yerik</em> that was brought in. He sat there and caught his breath for a moment before smiling, “Just peachy. My teacher’s trying to turn me into a splat on the forest floor but you know it’s fine.” I laughed and handed him some food. “You know, if it weren’t for you she wouldn’t have to be stuck teaching a jarhead marine how to not be a jarhead marine.” He chuckled, taking a bite. “Yeah, well now we’re both stuck with each other.” I rolled my eyes, Ku’hia laughed at our banter, “Be sure to stay on guard. Neytiri is not easily befriended, she might try to kill you before your training’s over.” I nodded, not doubting it. Jake just laughed again, I saw the glint in his eye, and I knew he was taking the challenge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>_____________</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>After learning some language and a little history of the People, we went to have dinner which was strangely lively that night. People were dancing and singing, just having a great time. “Is there a special occasion?” I asked Ku’hia as he sat down next to me, two cups in his hands. “Yes, one of the hunters has recovered from a battle with the Sky People. We were uncertain if he would make it.” I looked over at the group, a tired but jubilant looking Na’vi man with a leaf bandage wrapped around his shoulder was clapping and smiling along with the people around him. “What happened to him..?” I asked, thanking Ku’hia as he passed me a cup.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He was out hunting when he saw Sky People in their machines tearing up the forest. He tried to delay them, but he got hurt trying to escape.” I looked down, saddened by the news. “I wish there was something we could do..” Ku’hia shook his head and looked at me, a small smile on his face. “At one time, I wished the Sky People had never come. But, I’ve come to see now that you are here for a reason. I am not sure what that reason would be, but I am.. eager to see what comes from you being here.” I smiled a little bit, elbowing him playfully. “If it makes you feel any better, I wasn’t happy about Sky People coming to this planet either.” He looked a bit surprised before he chuckled, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Enough of that. Drink.”</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>I laughed and took a sip, and hummed at the sweetness, and yet the familiar burning sensation as I drank it made some interesting flashbacks pop up in my mind. “Is this alcohol?” He looked confused at the word, “A spirit? Yes. It’s made from fermented </span>
  <em>
    <span>ki’ong</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” I nodded taking another sip, </span>
  <em>
    <span>ki’ong </span>
  </em>
  <span>was a type of fruit that grew on Pandora, we haven’t got an equivalent to it on Earth to my knowledge. We drank and ate fruit, and as the night went on I ended up leaning on him, giggling to my heart's content while trying to explain to him the meaning of my middle name. I can't remember how we got onto this topic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ku’hia’s face seemed to be flushed, his grin was dazzling in the firelight, and he seemed to hang on to my every word. “So, you have another language back home? Other than </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Ìnglìsì</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” I nodded, taking another deep drink. “On my home planet, Earth, there are over 6000 languages and dialects, as well as some languages that people don’t know how to speak anymore. We call those dead languages, but there are people who study them so technically they’re undead. Like a zombie!” I chuckled and continued, “My first and middle name is from a language we have back home, it’s called French-” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh! Grace told me this once, it is a.. Romantic, language?” He finished uncertain, words slightly slurred. “That’s right! It’s called that not because it’s a love language, although it is in our culture, it’s called such because of the previous language it comes from. My name in French means ‘the crown’. A crown is something a royal person wears, like how </span>
  <em>
    <span>Olo’eyktan</span>
  </em>
  <span> and Mo’at wear red jewelry and garments. Except people on Earth who were royal leaders wore crowns of precious metals and gems to show their status.” He looked like he understood, looking at me with a smirk. “So that means you are royalty on your planet?” I laughed, “Far from it! Though, I suppose being a scholar has it’s perks too. I really am a regular woman outside of that. Nothing royal about me in the slightest.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ku’hia took another swig of his drink, seemingly finishing it and putting it to the side. “I disagree.” When looking at my befuddled expression he grinned again and said, “A woman with eyes like yours could not possibly be a regular woman. No less than royalty in fact.” If my cheeks weren’t flushed from the drink already they sure were at that moment. I shook my head, trying to hide my smile and keep things.. Amicable. “I’m glad you think so.” Was all I could muster before I heard someone walk up next to us. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“So, this is where you have been? Next to this outsider?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> I looked up, seeing the male from the night before, the one who was talking with Ku’hia outside of Mo’at’s alcove.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His bright green eyes were cold, sharp. He was handsome in a severe way, the scar on his cheek was prominent against his blue skin. He reminded me of Coffman. <em>“Hello, Mevaüt. Come to spoil my evening have you?”</em> I couldn’t help but chuckle softly as I took my last sip, protesting a bit as Ku’hia took my cup from me, stacking them both and looking back up at this Mevaüt. <em>“Why do you enjoy spending time with this demon? You know what their people did to us, to you!-” “And despite the past, I will have an open mind. And this one happens to be my student and friend. She is not like them.”</em> I looked at Ku’hia, his expression was calm, but his eyes seemed on fire.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I looked between the both of them, their gazes locked in an intense fight. I patted him on the chest, getting his attention, seeing the burning fire in his gaze soften as he caught my eyes, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Maybe I should head to bed. It seems like you have some things to discuss.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> He went to protest and I had already stood up, turning to his friend. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I know I will never truly be a part of the People. But I hope one day you can see I am not here to harm anyone. I am just here to learn and make friends.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> I bowed a bit with my hand to my heart, and bid Ku’hia goodnight. Inwardly smirking with satisfaction at Mevaüt’s uncomfortable expression. I walked away, heading past the Tree of Voices to a stream nearby. I had to rinse out my hair and redo it before bed, didn’t want to waste time the next morning doing it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>I quickly undid my hair, stripped off my minimal clothing and tossed them to the side. I dove in the water and just swam for a while, needing a moment to clear my head. ‘Ku’hia’s been affected by us somehow. I wonder what happened.’ I spotted a tree that Ku’hia had pointed out, the orange fruit of this plant had cleaning properties, like soap, shampoo and conditioner all in one. How’s that men’s health commercial for you? I grabbed 2 and squished them, their purple insides were sudsy, and I delighted in covering myself in the surprisingly big bubbles that came from them. 'And since he's been affected by us, in such a way that makes Mevaüt want him to leave me alone so bad.. Why does Ku'hia treat me so nicely?' I washed my hair, massaged my scalp for a good 5 minutes as I continued to ponder, and dove in again. I came up for air 2 minutes later, and shook my hair out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>I climbed up the bank, got dressed and went to the Tree. It’s long pink vine-like leaves caressed me as I sat down, the bright light it gave off was beautiful. I began sectioning my hair, braiding each section, gently humming a melody justto keep myself entertained. Music I hadn't heard in a long time passed through my mind aimlessly, bringing good memories to mind as I finished braiding. I just sat there though, still humming, still looking at this marvelous piece of nature with reverence, I didn't want to get up yet. I'm still.. Shocked. 'I'm really here. I'm really doing this, training with the People...' After I spent some time there, I went back to my hammock. Ku’hia wasn’t in sight, I didn’t see Jake or Neytiri on the way in but I assumed they had gone to bed as well. I slid into my hammock and laid down, not wanting to leave yet, but knowing I needed rest. I let myself slip away, and felt the familiar hug of fluid gel around me. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The lid opened up, I came out, and seemingly no one was around. I shrugged, put on my discarded tennis shoes, and went to lay down. The after effects of being intoxicated seemed to catch up to me in my human body because me, walking? Not the move. I made it to Rylie and I’s room; I kicked off my shoes, took some advil and some water, flopped into bed, and heaved a sigh. Ku’hia’s voice and the image of his smile in the firelight played in the back of my head. ‘It was nice of him to call me his friend.’ I thought to myself, trying to forget the comment about my eyes making me more than what I was, ‘no less than royalty’. But he said it with such conviction.. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rylie bust through our room door, “Céleste, your brother’s trying to fight Coffman in the mess hall.” I groaned and couldn’t help but laugh as I sat up, Rylie’s face showing her slight fear. Drunk me is not to be trifled with. I got up, grumbling to myself as I pulled on my onesie, and my bunny slippers, not even caring. I walked out of the room, Rylie following me trying to explain what happened. “I’ll hear it from that bonehead Coffman. He’s picked the wrong night to fuck with my brother.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ngip- large plain, field <br/>Ikinimaya- Staircase to Heaven (it's the-the title of the-nvm)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>__________Third POV:</b>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Céleste heard the commotion before she entered the mess hall, and it was unbelievably chaotic. People were yelling, she thought she heard someone say, “I’ve got 5 bucks on Wheelie over there-” She could tell this was getting out of hand. She pushed through the crowd, “‘Scuse me-coming through-get your dirty hands off the onesie aight?” She pushed to the center of this catastrophe and spotted Norm and Max sitting at the table behind Jake and Coffman. Her brother was calmly talking to the angered man, but Liam looked like he was about ready to burst. His tanned skin had a bright tint of red to it like he had been outside without sunscreen on. She would’ve found it funny if she wasn’t drunk and tired as hell. She made note to ask Grace about the alcoholic aftermath later. “Just what in the blue </span>
  <b>fuck</b>
  <span> is going on here?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two men stopped and looked up, seeing her in her normally adorable and hilarious outfit, Jake went to laugh and so did Coffman, but one look in her eye said she meant business this time. She wasn’t happy and someone was responsible for it. “Which one of you idiots decided to pick a fight with each other huh?” Jake pointed at Coffman immediately, “I was here calmly eating my sludge when he walked by talking about you.” Céleste’s arms crossed in front of her, she tapped her slippered feet and could practically feel the fumes coming off of her. Some people backed up to give her some room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And what did he say Jake?” “He said..” He stopped and coughed, looking away a bit sheepishly. “He was commenting on your ass. And I thought it was rude and I told him to keep his mouth shut, and well here we are.” She nodded, and rounded on Liam. “And do </span>
  <b>you</b>
  <span> think it’s funny or cute to comment on an ass that’s not yours?” He smiled that irritating smile, Céleste hated that smirk of his with all her being, she could see the arrogance and the unbelievable confidence radiating through the grin. “I was just saying how nice it would be to have your ass in my lap-” She flicked him in his forehead, catching him and everyone a bit off guard. A punch was likely, a kick to the nuts? Even moreso. A flick? To the forehead?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It seemed to do well enough because Liam rubbed the spot, hissing a bit from the impact, “What the fuck Céleste-” “I’ve told you time, and time, and time again. I’m not yours, I will never be yours, and my body is not for you to fantasize about like the sick twisted puppy you are. You leave me and my brother alone or I promise you Coffman on everything I know and love, I’m gonna make you regret the day you ever breathed a word in my direction. Do I make myself clear?” At this point her voice got low and calm, but the promise of further pain was heavy in her tone. Jake smiled to himself in satisfaction and pride as he wheeled himself back to the table. Couldn’t nobody fuck with his lil’ sis.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At this point everyone had slowly trickled out, not wanting to be on the receiving end of such tranquil rage. Coffman and Céleste had an intense staredown before he walked past her, making a brisk exit. She eyed the rest of the people still standing around, confused. “Alright! Show’s over! Go act like you have better things to do.” They scattered, Céleste sighed, she was tired, her drunkenness was wearing off and she was ready for bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you don’t mind not starting a goddamn fight club while I go pass out, that’d be swell.” She said, grinning a bit at her big brother. He grinned back, “I could’ve taken him.” “And then you would’ve been court-martialed and Neytiri wouldn’t have anyone to torture.” He playfully grumbled some curses to himself, and she laughed. Bidding everyone goodnight, she walked back to her room with Rylie, and went to sleep off the day's events.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>________________</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After Céleste’s departure from the intense stare off the two Na’vi men were having, Ku’hia stood, regarding his.. friend in a calm but irritated manner. They had talked about this the night Céleste and her brother came. He was getting tired of arguing with him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“What is it you are trying to say?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Mevaüt looked at him, bristling. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“You need to leave her alone. She is a demon.” “She is my apprentice. I thought you were there when Olo’eyktan said for me to teach her.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Mevaüt rolled his eyes, his teeth bared in a hiss. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I was there. And I do not agree.” “That is not for you to decide.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> They glared at each other, the air was thick with tension. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“If you have such a problem with me teaching Heaven, maybe you should look the other way. Ha, go take it up with Olo’eyktan if you really want to.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Mevaüt grumbled and wandered off, much to Ku’hia’s delight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>However, Heaven had already disappeared, and while he wanted to see her again and  had a feeling that she hadn’t gone to sleep yet, he wasn’t sure if he should disturb her. So he went up the tree, climbing to the topmost branch, calling for his </span>
  <em>
    <span>ikran</span>
  </em>
  <span>. A few moments later his banshee, a beautifully deep indigo colored animal, popped it’s head out from the cover of the leaves. With a quiet chirp it landed on the branch in front of Ku’hia, nuzzling him and nipping his hand affectionately. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Yes yes, Leso’ha, I have a treat for you.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>His banshee gave quiet but enthusiastic screech, eagerly munching on the bit of yerik his master and friend brought to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ku’hia leaned over and gently caressed his </span>
  <em>
    <span>ikran</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He felt the need to talk to someone, but Tsu’tey was nowhere to be found, and even if he was Ku’hia wouldn’t be too inclined to speak to him, as he knew Tsu’tey’s opinion on his new friend and student and her brother. “Student and friend.. Ha! Can you believe I said that Leso’ha?.. Eywa help me.. I have only just met her.. I do not know her.. “ ‘But you want to.’ He thought to himself, shaking his head, sighing. Despite the conundrum he seemed to be in, he laughed, a smile plastering his face. Céleste’s laughter ran through his mind and her big, bright blue eyes shined like the night sky as he thought back to the celebration. He wasn’t sure just what Eywa had planned for his meeting Céleste, but he really was excited for it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>_______________First POV:</b>
</p><p>
  <span>The next morning, I woke up bright and early. I went and linked up, saying hi to Grace and Max on the way in. When I felt like opening my eyes, I saw Ku’hia was soundly asleep. I sat there, watching him breathe in.. and out.. His nose twitched like a cat and I chuckled, deciding it was time to head down and eat. I got to my knees, slinking out of the hammock with more ease than yesterday. I went down the stairs, seeing the cooking fires being tended to, children playing and parents up and gossiping. I went, like yesterday, to a dying fire pit, raking the coals and rekindling a fire. I wondered what Ku’hia and I would be up to that day, when I felt a small tap on my shoulder. I looked over, seeing a small girl, maybe 5 or 6 in human years.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had green eyes which were framed by her long curly hair, a small nose, chubby cheeks and the sweetest smile you’d ever see. I had to restrain my internal ‘awwwwwww’, she seemed shy and nervous trying to speak to me. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I See you, little one.”  </span>
  </em>
  <span>I said, my voice soft and gentle to match my smile. She immediately brightened up, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I See you, friend.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> She pulled some flowers from behind her back; orange and purple and blue colored buds looked up at me as the girl stumbled through her words. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Please, take these flowers</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>“What for?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>She shrugged and grinned, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“It is a gift!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>I couldn’t help but chuckle a bit, pulling a flower from the bundle and I stuck one in her hair. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“That is my gift to you.”</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She looked pleasantly surprised as she wrapped her little arms around my neck. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Irayo! What is your name?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> I smiled as she pulled away, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“You may call me Heaven. What is your name?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>With an impossibly bigger grin, she answered, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Loran!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> I was thankful for such an easy name to remember, I gently booped her nose, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“What an elegant name for an equally elegant girl.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> She blushed a bit, laughing until she heard her friends calling. She bade me goodbye, and I was left alone again, but for only a minute. I felt someone behind me, looking around and- “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Olo’eyktan! I did not see you there, I-.. I See you.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Standing, I bowed to him, flustered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He dismissed it with a wave of his hand, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I See you, Heaven.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>He noticed the little girl, Loran, walking away. He glanced at the bundle of flowers, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“She picked them for you?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>I nodded, smiling at the bouquet, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“She said they were a gift.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> He hummed in approval, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“And your lessons with Ku’hia? I hope he has given you enough of a challenge.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> I nodded slowly, chuckling. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“He has been a patient and fair teacher. I find his teachings to be fun.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> I couldn’t help the grin on my face, surprisingly enough, he cracked a small smile, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I admire your thirst for learning. It is refreshing. I remember when I was your age..”</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>I heard someone call my name, “Heaven!” I looked over and saw Ku’hia coming down the staircase. I smiled and waved at him, excited to start my day. I turned to Olo’eyktan, and bowed to him again. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I hate to leave so soon, but I must go. Have a good day, Olo’eyktan.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>He smiled and waved me off, getting stuck talking to what looked like a bunch of elders. I could just barely see the irritation in his eyes. ‘Guess he doesn’t like talking to stuffy old goats either.’ I thought as I met my mentor halfway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Up before me?” “You’ll be in trouble for being late if this keeps up,</span>
  <em>
    <span> karyu</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” He rolled his eyes playfully as I laughed. We talked as he loaded a bag full of fruits, veggies and dried meats. “Are you ready for a trip?” ‘In our favorite rocketship..’ I giggled, “Yeah, let’s get to it.” He smiled, and took off towards the staircase leading out of Hometree. “Hey wait up! You didn’t count down, that’s cheating!” I chased after him, faster than I ever thought possible, maybe I didn’t notice the first time cause a giant Na’vi/man eating devil panther was after me, but just running for the sake of it.. I felt powerful.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I caught up with him before long and he smiled approvingly, putting on a burst of speed as we made it to the forest floor. We kept running, I wanted to just keep going, to not have to stay behind him, but that would have to wait until after I knew the workings of the area. For the moment I settled with keeping pace with him, vaulting over fallen trees as he ran ahead in the canopy, silently maneuvering from branch to branch as we went on for what felt like forever. ‘Thank goddess they whipped me into shape..’ I thought as we finally came to rest by a stream.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was comforting to know that we both had broken a light sweat, he sat down after taking a moment to look around. “Never rest unless you are sure of your safety.” He said, pulling open the bag of goodies he’d brought. I took a minute to look around, listening to the area before sitting next to him, munching on the fruit he handed to me. He smiled a bit before his ear perked up. He held his finger to his lips, crawling forward to the sounds of.. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Palulukan..”</span>
  </em>
  <span> He murmured, staying low and beckoning me forward. I made my way over, as quietly and cautiously as I could before coming up next to him and seeing a sight I never thought I’d ever witness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jake would say that I was witness to a mother demon nursing her cubs, but I thought it was beautiful. The way the mom was on her side, enjoying the sun as her cubs fed from her hungrily. I held all the breath and giggles in my body and slowly backed away, seeing Ku’hia had already packed our snacks and helped me climb into a tree. He whispered to me, “Follow where my feet go, we will find another resting spot.” I nodded, and after he took off, I did too. After finding another spot, eating a bit and learning some tracking tricks, he challenged me.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you can find your way back to Hometree, we can relax and do something you like tomorrow.” I looked at him, “You’re serious?” He stepped back and swept his hand in a ‘after you’ motion, a slight smirk on his face. I glared at him playfully, scaling a tree and poking my head through the canopy as far as I could. I saw two possible ways to get back, seeing </span>
  <em>
    <span>Keutrel</span>
  </em>
  <span> several kilometers away, I whistled to myself, I didn’t realize we had ran so far out into the forest. I hoped that I wouldn’t lead us way off the mark, as I came down and noticed- “This.. This muthafucka done left me! Why I oughta-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I went to get mad but then I stopped, shrugging to myself, “If he was that much of an ass he could’ve just left me to go wherever and then come back hopefully in less than 2 pieces. Oh well..” I heard movement behind me and smiled. ‘He’s not that heartless. Just a bit.. Mischievous.’ I scaled the tree I went up, checking my distance, direction, the time.. The sun had just hit it’s apex, I had about 9 hours max to get back. I climbed back down, planning my trajectory and stretched, shaking out my jitters.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taking a couple deep breaths, I took off. I ran, and ran, faster than the wind, than light itself. I hopped over tangled roots and trees, cheekily flipping over things, using vines to swing over herds of animals and streams. Thank the goddess I was friends with a group of parkour kids back in the day, and it seemed I still had a hold of my old tricks. I slid under another bunch of roots before using my momentum to vault up a tree, and take a look around. I was still a ways away, but it was closer than when I first started. Maybe another 30 minutes to an hour and I’d be on my Hometree stretch. I took another deep breath, and I came down, taking off into the brush.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>____________________</span>
</p><p>
  <span>An hour and some change later, I was jogging my way up to the entrance of Hometree. I stopped, looked around and leaned against a tree. I tried to regulate my breathing, my heart was pounding in my chest and my legs felt on fire. I only took 2 more stops after that first one, only coming up from the canopy to check I was still going in the right direction, but damn what a workout. I felt a presence behind me, and hands came over my eyes. I couldn’t help but chuckle, “You can’t scare me, you’ve been here the whole time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He laughed, coming from behind the tree with a proud grin. “You made it back, in one piece even. Congratulations. Tomorrow you get to pick what we do.” I raised a fist in the air in victory, smiling at him. “I honestly wasn’t entirely sure I’d make it back before sundown. I thought at one point a group of </span>
  <em>
    <span>nantang</span>
  </em>
  <span> was gonna chase me. But that was fun, I enjoyed that.” He nodded, a softer smile on his face, “I am glad to hear it.” With that we headed in, I complained a little about how tired my feet were, and he laughed, “Your feet are not tough, they are not used to running in the forest. You will get stronger.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>I nodded and chuckled, “That’ll be after you run me into the dirt.” He looked shocked a bit appalled, and I had to explain the meaning behind the expression, why we use it.. Lets just say, we had an English lesson along with our lunch, me teaching him expressions and phrases we had on Earth that might’ve had equivalents on Pandora. As we sat and ate, we heard a commotion. “Tsu’tey.” Ku’hia said not even bothering to look up from his food, and sure enough there he was, helping to carry a sturmbeest in. I nodded, going back to teaching Ku’hia, but a few seconds later he looked up, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I See you, Tsu’tey.”</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>I looked behind me, seeing the stern faced Na’vi. He was also handsome, but unlike Mevaüt his features weren’t as severe or harsh. I might’ve even thought he was cute if he didn’t regard me with such a hateful gaze. I greeted him anyway, going back to my food to show I wasn’t trying to be a part of the conversation. He didn’t bother to acknowledge me, which was fine, and he continued talking to Ku’hia. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I am going to fly my ikran after I speak with Tsahik. Would you like to come?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Wow, he can ask nicely, what a feat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ku’hia smiled apologetically, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Another time. My apprentice and I have some lessons to learn.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> I smiled to my leaf plate, trying to keep the chuckle to myself. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I know that is your apprentice, but would you not like to fly your ikran? When was the last time you flew him?” “2 days ago. I will fly him tomorrow.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>They continued to speak, and I went back to my food but I noticed Loran, just seconds before a bunch of kids swarmed her. I watched her disappear under the group of preschool aged children, a bit uneasy at the amount of giggling coming from over there. All of a sudden, Loran pushed to the outside, locked eyes with me and they all looked over, a dozen or so eyes in my direction.</span>
</p><p><span>“Uh.. Ku’hia-?” Tsu’tey huffed, exasperated,</span><em><span>“Can you not see we are speaking?” </span></em><span>Ku’hia cut him off, </span><em><span>“Could you not speak to my student that way?”</span></em><span> Before I could continue, the kids ran over, calling my name, which was cute until I got bulldozed to the ground by Loran. A couple other kids had piled into my lap as I sat up, laughing from the amount of attention I was gaining. </span><em><span>“I See you, little ones.”</span></em><span> I said to them, wondering what it was I had done to gain such attention. </span><em><span>“Loran said your name is Heaven!” </span></em><span>I heard from the back, to which</span> <span>I answered, </span><em><span>“That is correct.”</span></em><span> I patiently answered questions, as a few kids braided flowers into my hair, complete with a flower crown too.</span></p><p>
  <span>Eventually though, the kids ran off, bidding me goodbye and going to create more chaos and mischief as I sighed heavily with a smile. That took a lot of energy. I looked up as I felt Ku’hia and Tsu’tey’s gaze. “Yes..?” I said, innocently picking up the last of my fruit and munching on it. “Heaven, how did those children know you?” Ku’hia asked, laughing through the shock of seeing me flattened to the ground by 15 kids. “I met Loran this morning. You remember that bouquet of flowers I was holding?” He nodded. “Loran gave them to me. She said they were a gift, I suppose it was her way of welcoming a new face. Anyway, I gave her a flower from the bouquet as my own gift to her, and I suppose that was enough for them to come question me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I noticed Tsu’tey hadn’t spoken yet, but Ku’hia was unfazed. “The children seem to like you. Have you always been this way?” I shrugged, drawing nonsensical patterns onto my skin as I watched the kids chase each other. “I suppose. I’ve always liked children, as well as animals. I suppose I am.. Nurturing? When need be at least. I haven’t been around kids in a long time, so that was a first for me.” Ku’hia smiled, asking me about the animals and children I’d come into contact with on Earth. I noticed Tsu’tey walked away, but I was certain he was maybe a bit thoughtful of the moment that he witnessed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>_________________</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was late in the evening, dinner was finishing up, and Ku’hia took my hand, leaning in my ear, “Come, I want to show you something.” I nodded, slipping away into the lit up forest below. We didn’t go far, much to my dismay, and we were coming upon some brush. He turned, placing a hand over my eyes. “Do not look.” I chuckled, closing my eyes and placing my hands over his. I heard some rustling, he led me further in, and he pulled his hand away. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Look.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> I opened my eyes and couldn’t believe it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a fairly large tree, with a cave/alcove thing in it, with curtain-like leaves covering the entrance and it had bright green moss growing on the bark. A little stream flowed next to it, bunches of flowers that looked like water lilies of some sort grew on the banks. I looked at Ku’hia, his face was a bit flush, and he seemed a bit nervous as he watched my expression. “What do you think?”  “I think it’s adorable, it’s wonderful. What is this place?” He went up to the alcove and pushed away the curtain revealing what looked like a space just big enough for two.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I used to come here when I was younger. When I was angered or upset I came here. It was.. A place to get away.” He sat down and I followed suit, looking around and seeing what looked like paintings on the wall. “And these..? Are these your adventures put on a canvas?” I asked, my eyes were drawn to one that seemed more faded than the rest. I’d have to ask about it later. “Canvas..?” He questioned. “It’s something to paint on, I’ll show you sometime.” He hummed and leaned on the wall, looking at the drawings with a distant expression on his face. Like he was elsewhere.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“These drawings are.. Adventures, I suppose. Things that I wished to happen, or that had happened and were fun.. I wanted to remember them..” Somehow I could tell he wasn’t talking about his ‘adventures’, but I didn’t press the matter. I asked him to indulge me in some of the memories, and he obliged with a small smile. Eventually, as he continued with what seemed like a multitude of stories, I guess I was so tired that I had passed out. I woke up again, in my hammock surprisingly, Ku’hia laying in his, presumably fast asleep. ‘I’ll have to apologize to him for falling asleep. I really wanted to hear the last bit about putting </span>
  <em>
    <span>teylu</span>
  </em>
  <span> in Mevaüt’s food.’ I giggled quietly and let myself go.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Waking up in the link chamber was.. Disappointing. It sucked, going back and forth between the Omaticaya and the base.. It was definitely tiresome to say the least. The chamber opened, I pulled off the biometrics, got out and made my way to dinner. Halfway there I decided against it, not wanting to try and stomach that crap they called food. I went to my room daydreaming of yerik and zaxtrle fruit when I noticed Rylie going over some files.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Ry.. How was your day?” She shrugged, “Eh.. It was the usual. Y’know it’s not as fun taking samples without you.” She said, gazing at me with those sad brown puppy dog eyes. I nodded, “I know. Becoming part of the People would’ve been fun if you had been there too.” She smiled, going back to her files when I got an idea. “Hey Ry.. You know how Ku’hia’s the one teaching me, right?” She turned back around, her interest piqued. “You finally confessing your love for him?” We both started laughing, I wheezed for a minute, “As if! I won a bet with him today, and he said that we could do whatever I wanted tomorrow.” She nodded, not entirely sure where I was going. “Do you wanna meet him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She screamed bloody murder, “Yes I wanna meet your boyfriend!!” She bulldozed me, knocking the wind out of my chest as I fell unto my bed. I groaned, “Okay, okay get off me! And he’s not my boyfriend!” She could only laugh at my frustration, cause my cheeks heated up regardless of my thoughts on the subject. Getting off of me, she skipped out of the room, “I’m gonna ask Grace if one of the other pilots can take over tomorrow, sleep well!” And with that, she left, making me chuckle in disbelief. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>My one thought as I got ready for bed, was what Ku’hia would think come tomorrow.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Unfortunately for Rylie and I, we had things to do that morning. I came into the link room, seeing Norm, Grace, and Max packing things up. Jake rolled in at the same time, “What’s going on?” Rylie asked. Grace looked up for a moment, not willing to lose time with their task. “I’m not about to let Selfridge micro-manage this whole thing.” She turned pointedly to Jake, “</span>
  <span>We</span>
  <span> are going to the mountains.” I almost jumped with glee, “You don’t mean the Hallelujah mountains..?” Grace nodded, a smile on her face. “There’s a mobile link at site 26, we’ll work out of there.” Rylie and I high fived, Norm gave a short, “Yes!” of excitement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Norm then looked over at Jake, seeing my brother’s confusion at our excitement he scoffed, “The legendary floating mountains of Pandora? Ever heard of them?” His tone of voice made me backtrack a minute, ‘Who in the hell is he talkin’ to?’ I went to say something when Jake stopped me, shaking his head. I guess I’d ask him about it later, as I had to help with packing everything up. After stuffing all our gear into Trudy’s Samson, we took off. It didn’t take as long as we had thought, and as we touched down in front of our new work site, Norm, Rylie and I began bouncing with anticipation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone put their masks on, and I couldn’t help myself, “Come on, what are we waiting for?” I said, throwing open the door. I could hear Grace chuckle as I hopped out and took a look around. I couldn’t believe it, we were really here. “Sometimes I catch myself thinking this is all a dream..” I said quietly, a hand clapped to my shoulder, “If you knew it was, would you want to wake up?” I looked at Grace, grinning, “No way.” She smiled, patting my shoulder and going into the trailer. We all got our gear in, and Grace started delegating as she powered up our link chambers, “Alright, Céleste hang a right. You’ll be taking that link on the left, Aurora, she’s the most functional after mine. Jake hang a left, you’ll take Beulah. She’s the least glitchy after Céleste’s.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I slid in the chamber calling out to Rylie, “Meet me at 550 kilks north of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Keutrel</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” “I’ll take samples while I wait for you!” I checked my watch, 8:00. ‘Nice to know I’m not too late.’ Grace came over and closed my link lid with a wink, and I went slack, slipping away to my avatar. I woke up to voices, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“She has never been asleep this long.” “Jakesully sleeps until midday sometimes.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> I giggled and sat up, unfolding my leaf and stretching. I turned, seeing Neytiri and Ku’hia looking at me, surprise in their eyes. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Good morning. I hope I am not too late for breakfast?” </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>They shook their heads as I climbed out of my hammock, giving me space as I stretched yet again. “How did you know we were here?” Ku’hia asked, and I shook my head, “I didn’t. But I heard you when I woke up. I hope I didn’t worry you.” He smiled and dismissed my statement, “No, no worry. I thought you were planning on sleeping for your activity today.” I laughed, “No, I’ve got a surprise for you, and I hope you enjoy it.” I looked at Neytiri, “What do you have planned for my brother today?” She smirked a bit, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I will see if he can hunt. Though he is loud and will disturb the animals” “He has much to learn. We both do. He is a good man, and will learn well. He has a great teacher to help him.”</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Neytiri seemed to blush and looked away, grumbling about something along the lines of “it’ll take a miracle to teach a </span>
  <em>
    <span>skwxang</span>
  </em>
  <span>”. Ku’hia turned to me, “What do you have planned?” “Let’s get breakfast and you’ll find out.” I said to him, grinning, “Neytiri, Jake should be awake by now, I suggest you grab him before he burns Hometree down.” She looked mortified, making me explain the meaning behind my expression. “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>tawtutes</span>
  </em>
  <span> and your ‘expressions’.” She said, though a small smile was on her face as she sprinted away. Ku’hia and I headed down to breakfast.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After eating breakfast and giving Ku’hia a bit of a language lesson, I packed some fruit and dried meat for the trip. “So, are you going to tell me what you have planned?” He asked, his bright yellow eyes sparkled with anticipation. I loved how easy it was for me to read him, to see his expression change. I grinned, “Don’t hold your breath, it’s a surprise.” He seemed confused, but he got the gist of it. I finished packing, I took a deep breath and looked at him. He looked back, confused. I smiled real big, and took off out of Hometree.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t take long for him to catch up, and I laughed when he looked a bit peeved. “What? Don’t like the taste of your own medicine?” “You could have warned me!” “You didn’t warn me either, you know!” He laughed and we kept going. Leaping and sliding through roots, swinging on vines and hopping through the trees.. I was free. I slowed down right at the meeting mark, huffing a bit from the workout. “So, what is this surprise you speak of?” Ku’hia asked, and I held up a hand, turning around and yelling, “Rylie! Get your blue butt over here!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>We waited for only a minute before some crashing came from the undergrowth. I turned, and there she was, her green eyes showed excitement, and I could just see her tail swinging back and forth out of view. She wore some olive green shorts, a gray tank top with a jacket wrapped around her waist. I turned, seeing Ku’hia’s surprised expression. “Surprise!” I said, laughing as Rylie came over and gave me a hug. “Hey sis. Being with the clan looks good on you.” I hugged her back, chuckling. “It’s definitely been interesting so far.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>We turned to Ku’hia and began my introductions. “Rylie, this is my mentor and new friend Ku’hia. Ku’hia, this is my best friend Rylie. She’s a scientist like Dr. Augustine and I.” He stepped forward, a hand over his heart and bowed, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“May Eywa smile upon our first meeting.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Rylie repeated the greeting, and we all sat down to get acquainted. I cannot tell you how many times Rylie would give me those looks-you know the ones, you’re sitting there talking to a cute guy and your bestie got that look like ‘we like him he cute he nice you better get him’ kinda look y’know?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>We had a good time, and soon Rylie had to get back to Grace, “She’s got us looking for some viperwolves, we’re gonna try and make an antidote from the venom.” “Oh, I can ask Mo’at about the poultice she used for my arm and see if you guys can jump from that.” She nodded and smiled, as she stood. “I’ll let Grace know when I get back. Ku’hia,” She bowed to him, looked at me, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>You know how cute he is? You better snatch him.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” her Spanish was almost strange and foreign to my Na’vi ears, the tips of them and my cheeks got hot as I retorted, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>I have no clue what you’re talking about. I will see you tonight.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> She grinned and laughed as she waved goodbye, disappearing into the brush.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t believe her, Goddess above, every time..” I grumbled to myself as I facepalmed, slightly angered. “Heaven..?” I looked up from my self pity party to see Ku’hia was seemingly astounded. “What-what’s wrong?” I asked, worried he didn’t like meeting my friend. “Wha..What language was that?” He asked me, a sparkle in his eye. I chuckled in relief, “Spanish. It is another Romance language from Earth. It’s the second most spoken language in our world.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded slowly, thinking a bit before asking, “Can you speak it some more?” I smiled big, nodding. “How about we go back to Hometree, I will speak Spanish, and you will teach me how to shoot a bow?” He grinned, and held out his hand, “Deal.” We clasped hands, and just like that, we sprinted back towards </span>
  <em>
    <span>Keutrel</span>
  </em>
  <span>. When we got there, we sat down for a quick lunch, I said some things in Spanish, and Créole, just to give it some spice. After, he taught me the basics of archery.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He showed me how to position the bow, what stance I needed to have. “Focus. Look straight down the arrow, and shoot.” I let the arrow fly, and it hit the second ring. I smiled wide, “Did you see that! I was close!” He laughed, nodding, “Yes, you were. Try again and see if you can get the middle.” I nodded, taking another arrow, I drew in a breath and pulled the string back. He observed my stance, making little corrections here and there. Everywhere he touched my skin tingled. He got so close I could smell him, like the forest and rain. ‘He smells so goddamn goo-Focus. Focus. F O C U S.’ I kept thinking, it was getting hard to concentrate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tilted my head a bit closer to the bow, readjusted my hips, stepped back and nodded. One more breath, and-</span>
  <em>
    <span>THUNK! </span>
  </em>
  <span>The arrow hit the middle and I grinned proudly at my work. He nodded approvingly, a gleam in his eyes. “When you master this, you will start shooting moving targets.” I looked at him, “We’ll go hunting?” “I will show you how at first, then we’ll work together.” I smiled and went back to practicing, feeling a growing satisfaction course through me with each deft thud of the arrow making its mark. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh, so the Sky Person can shoot a bow? How cute.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>I turned, Mevaüt was leaning against some trees, a malicious grin on his face. Before I could say anything, Ku’hia had stepped forward, his face was passive and his tone was calm. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Mevaüt, I will ask you one time. Do not speak to my student that way. She is learning to become part of the People, just as you or I had to. Walk away.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>I could feel the sharpness of the words, my teacher wasn’t playin’ games. ‘I’ll let him handle it.’</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I went and pulled the arrows out of the target ring, taking my stance at my teacher's side. Mevaüt scoffed, rolled his eyes as he walked over. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Why are you so nice to her?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>I fitted an arrow on the bowstring, letting it go and watching with satisfaction at the </span>
  <em>
    <span>thunk</span>
  </em>
  <span> sound it made.</span>
  <em>
    <span> “Why do you like learning about this demon, she will only bring misfortune and death with her.” </span>
  </em>
  <span> He continued and I shot another arrow, watching as it split the previous one. I prepared the next one as Mevaüt continued. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“And you coddle her like she is a child when you teach her, at least Neytiri gives that skxawng-” </span>
  </em>
  <span>I growled at the statement as I let the last arrow fly, not even bothering to watch it split the arrows before it. At this point I’ve had enough, you can talk shit about me all you want, talk about my family and I’ll have your head. I turned and stalked toward him, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Nobody gets to call my brother a skxawng but me, you ignorant-”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Ku’hia had caught me halfway in pursuit, Mevaüt’s grin was just so infuriating. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Insult me all you like. I do not care.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” I said to him, the venom rang clear, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>You talk about my big brother like that again, and I will show you what a Sky Person like me can do.”</span>
  </em>
  <span>  He was about to retort when Ku’hia got between us, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>You need to leave. Now.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>They stared each other down, unspoken words bounced between them before the green eyed Na’vi scoffed, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Do as you please.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> He walked off and when he disappeared through the trees I wanted to fight. I wanted to chase him down and beat that grin off his face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ku’hia grimaced, turning to me, “I am sorry he said those things. He is.. How did you put it? Ignorant. Yes, he is ignorant to not see past the fact that you are not just a dreamwalker.” I sighed, smiling sadly, “I’m used to worse. He is not the first to not like me because of who I am... What I look like.. It just.. I hoped to escape that here, and I naively thought I would just be quietly tolerated by the People.. Of course people are mad that I’m here, they know this isn’t my real body-that I’m a </span>
  <em>
    <span>tawtute</span>
  </em>
  <span>, that I wear your skin like it’s a game, and it’s even worse because of the way it feels all too familiar-!” I couldn’t stop, the pain of the irony of it all was too much. I almost dropped to the ground from the epiphany, but Ku’hia caught me, slowly lowering me to the forest floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The situation feels so familiar. And I hate it. It makes my skin crawl. It used to bother me so much when I first learned of it.. Humans wearing another race’s skin like a costume to ‘learn and co-exist with the natives’.. Bullshit.. All of it..” I was almost in tears now, seeing the similarities in the Omaticaya as well as the black/POC community back home, the notion that I was </span>
  <em>
    <span>participating</span>
  </em>
  <span> in the vicious cycle of genocide that the RDA was continuing with these peaceful people.. A tear slipped out, my voice was small and it seemed so fragile to myself.. So broken. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to show just how much I love the nature you thrive in, how much I envy your connection to the </span>
  <em>
    <span>All Mother, </span>
  </em>
  <span>to your world.. I wish there was more of that love back home..”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ku’hia lifted my chin, brushing away the now streaming lines of tears rolling down my cheeks and brought me close. He said nothing, gave me a hug, and just held me there with my head on his shoulder. He ran his hands through my hair as I tried to stop crying. Goddess this was so embarrassing. But at the same time.. His embrace was so warm.. So.. secure. I felt like my problems could melt away if I just stayed in his arms. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“You are so kind. The moment I saw the awe on your face the day you came to the forest.. I knew you weren’t like them.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>He said. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“You respect our home. You want to know more, you want to See.. In fact, I think you already know how to. You just need a little more help.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>I sniffled, wiping away my tears. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just wish I could do more.. I wish I could change their objective, make them see reason or have empathy for you.. But it’s..” Another shuddering sigh and I broke down sobbing, pulling away from my mentor for a moment to collect myself. “I-I’m sorry.. I shouldn’t cry..” I wiped at my cheeks and face furiously, trying to keep the blush and embarrassment at bay. Ku’hia shushed me gently and brought me back to him, giving me a big bear hug. “You are okay to cry. Crying shows you care..” I could barely give him a smile, I just felt so defeated. Scary thing was, I think-no-I knew he could tell. He stood up, extending a hand, “Come. Let’s get away for awhile.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>We went to his treehouse, the sound of the stream and the buzz of forest activity seemed to soothe my worries. I sat down in his alcove, him sitting next to me, and we were silent for a minute. “You see that drawing right there..?” He pointed to the most faded drawing on the farthest wall. It was 4 figures, 2 small, 2 tall, feline ears and tails showed they were a Na’vi family. I nodded slowly, looking up at him, seeing his gaze trained on it. The faraway look in his yellow irises showed he wasn’t entirely here with me. “That.. I drew that the day my family died.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>I was at a loss for words when he continued. “We were out in the forest.. Gathering food for a celebration.. We were coming back to Hometree when the Sky People and their machines came.. My father and mother tried to fight them off, but they were killed.. My sister and I tried to run, but they killed her too.. I was able to lead them away from Hometree, they went away when they could not find me.. But I went back to Hometree.. Alone..” I sniffled, crying, “Oh Ku’hia.. I had no idea, I’m so sorry..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He gave me a small smile and sighed, “You probably would not believe it, but I used to be cold towards </span>
  <em>
    <span>tawtutes</span>
  </em>
  <span> like Mevaüt. I did not care for Sky People, for what they did to me and my family.. But then I met Dr. Augustine. I attended her school, and I learned a little of your language and culture.. I began to see that not all of you were.. Evil. And then, you came to the forest.. I saw how happy you were to be surrounded by nature.. You are not like the </span>
  <em>
    <span>tawtutes</span>
  </em>
  <span> that took my family, that killed Neytiri’s sister. You.. You are different. And that is good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I couldn’t stop the tremor in my bottom lip as I cried, “Y-you really know how to get a girl in her feelings huh..?” I wiped away my tears as he chuckled, pulling me close and giving me yet another squeeze, not that I complained. “I saw my friend in need of help, so I helped.” He said it so simply, as if helping a dreamwalker like me was the most natural thing in the world to him, after everything he’d been through, the sorrows he’s faced. I couldn’t help but to laugh, a bigger smile crawling on my face as I shook my head, simply baffled and happy to know Ku’hia was my mentor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The rest of the time we sat in his treehouse, he and I traded stories of our youth, better times in our lives. Soon it got dark, and we headed back, our hearts lighter and our burdens lessened. Sitting down at a fire pit with Neytiri and Jake, we partook in the evening meal, laughing and joking as if nothing had happened. I didn’t tell Jake, cause if he knew, he would’ve gone over to beat Mevaüt in the face and goddess knows we couldn’t have that. But all too soon, it was time for bed. I had slid into my hammock, laughing a little as he finished the story of his sister’s first meeting with Eyktukan, the clan leader.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wish I could’ve met her.” I said quietly after he’d finished. He didn’t say anything for a moment, but he chuckled, “She would have liked you.” I looked at him, a skeptical look on my face as I grinned, “And what makes you say that?” “Hm.. I do not know.. I just know she would have liked to meet you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I laughed softly, “I suppose.. She sounds like she would’ve been a sweet girl. And just by looking at you I know she would’ve been cute as a button.” “Button?” Ku’hia asked. I laughed again, “I’ll explain in the morning. Goodnight Ku’hia.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Sweet dreams Heaven.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>I closed my eyes, and after listening to him drift off to sleep, I slipped away, back to the link site. I opened my eyes, seeing the familiar interior of the link chamber. I sighed as the lid opened, I pulled the biometrics off and I got ready for bed. Norm and Rylie were passed out in their bunks, it sounded like Grace was in the shower, and Jake was still in the link.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After braiding up my hair for the night, I sat down in front of the camera we used for our logs. I turned it on, pressed record, and sighed. “This is Céleste “Heaven” Lacouronne Sully. It’s..23:32, location, link site #26.. It’s the first day out here in the Hallelujah mountains, and today during archery practice I was reminded of why I hate the concept of this program so much, and just how much it pains me to be a part of it.”</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey guys, it's been a busy couple of weeks, and my mental space isn't the best so updates aren't happening as often as I'd like. Here in a little while hopefully I can start updating more and hopefully writing more stories for you guys to read. I don't know how many people actually read this story but for those of you that do I'll do my best to make it a good experience for you. I also realized I haven't put translations at the end of chapters yet so I'll get on that soon as well. Hope you enjoy the chapter, the next one should be uploaded here in a week or two. Happy Spook month.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>That morning, after I had woken up early and had breakfast, showered and got my link chamber started, ready to get out into the forest. “It’s addicting isn’t it?” I heard from behind me, seeing Grace walk in from her side of the trailer, coffee mug in her hand and a cigarette in the other. “Being out there, amongst them, away from all this.” She motioned around the trailer, contemplating it for a minute. “Away from those idiots back at base, who’re more savages than the Na’vi could ever be..” She sighed while turning her brown eyes to mine. “You like being out there with them, don’t you?” I nodded, not sure what to say. Grace nodded as well, lighting her cig, taking a drag and taking a gulp of coffee. “Do me a favor out there? Keep an eye on your brother.” I nodded again, still unsure where this came from. She stared out of the window. Seeing the sun beginning to peek through the clouds.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She motioned to the link chamber, “Go on, get in. You’re burning daylight as we speak.” I smiled a bit, sliding in as she calibrated the last few settings. “You really think your brother’s different from them? That he’ll do the right thing?” She asked me, a hand on the lid. I sat there for a moment before responding. “Jake’s always been a knucklehead. No denying that. But he’s got a good heart.. And I know he’ll make the occasional mistake, but he always rights his wrongs, come hell or high water. I don’t know what he’ll do, but he’ll do what he thinks is right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked me in my eye, nodded and shut the link lid, leaving me to question what it really was my brother was reporting to Quaritch. But I didn’t have time to think, as I traveled from my human body to my avatar, stiff from not moving all night. I sat up, seeing the same blue flower I had picked at Grace’s school, but there were quite a few, braided into what looked like a flower crown. ‘Loran must’ve gotten up early. What a sweetheart.’ I smiled, pulling myself up on the branch and stepping over the crown, placing it on my head and making my way down the inner staircase.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At the base of the staircase, I had resumed my routine of stoking a dying fire. Before long I spotted my young Na’vi friend. “Loran!” I called to her, bright seafoam green eyes smiled at me as she toddled over. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I See you Loran.” “I See you, Heaven.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>She wrapped her little arms around me in a hug. “Thank you for the gift, it was very nice to wake up to.” I told her as she looked at the crown, a bit confused but she grinned. “I did not pick the flowers. I did not make the crown either.” I hummed in confusion, “Then who did?” The little girl smiled slyly, skipping away to her friends as I was left with my question.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She seems to like you.” A voice said from behind me, I turned to see Neytiri had been standing there. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I See you, Neytiri.” “I See you, Heaven.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>She sat next to me, observing the people walking around. “Is Jakesully always so-” “Headstrong? Hard headed? Stubborn? Nearsighted? Competitive?” “Clumsy.” I laughed a bit, not expecting that but I sighed at the flashbacks that came with the answer to her question. “Neytiri you know how we dreamwalkers work right? We are </span>
  <em>
    <span>tawtutes</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and we control a fabricated body the Sky People made so we are able to walk amongst you and the forest, since the air isn’t safe for </span>
  <em>
    <span>tawtutes</span>
  </em>
  <span> to breathe.” She nodded as I continued, “Well, Jake’s body, his Sky Person body..” I was trying to figure out how to explain it. At that moment Jake came by, eating some fruit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Heaven, Ku’hia’s looking for you.” He said, pointing towards the target area. I nodded as a smile came onto my face, leaning over to whisper in Neytiri’s ear, “I suggest, when you’re ready to, you should ask him why he’s so clumsy. I’m sure he’d be okay with telling you.” I stood waving to the pair as I ran towards the sound of arrowheads hitting wood, finally seeing Ku’hia’s tall figure as he shot repeatedly into the target. Observing his lithe and athletic physique, the way his muscles flexed as he pulled the bowstring taut- ‘Settle down Heaven, one step at a time.’ “Whew, did you wake up on the wrong side of your leaf today?” I asked, he turned, a smile on his face, it grew bigger as he saw the crown. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I see you got your gift.” “You picked the flowers? And made the crown?” I asked him, grinning. He nodded, slinging his bow on his back and walking over. “I saw you picking the flower that day. The color is not as beautiful as your eyes, but I thought you would like it.” I looked down, twiddling my thumbs. “You really know how to make a girl speechless huh..” I murmured, and he seemed to be a little flustered as well, scratching the back of his head and chuckling a bit before grinning. “Come, I want to show you something.” He took my hand and we ran back to the staircase, heading to the top. He led me out onto a branch, high above the forest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>I couldn’t help but let out a low whistle in disbelief as I saw the mass of trees that seemed to stretch past the horizon. The sun was just beginning to peak above the forest, brightening the sky and coloring it with vibrant oranges and pinks, melding expertly with the early morning navy blue sky. “Beautiful..” “Yes, you are absolutely right.” I looked over at Ku’hia, his eyes caught mine, holding them there for what seemed like a lifetime. Eventually I cleared my throat, looking off to the side to cool my burning cheeks. “So, come out here to push me off the edge hm?” He laughed, “I think I am getting used to your terrible sense of humor.” “But you laughed huh?” I grinned as he rolled his eyes and shook his head, turning to the end of the branch. He made a chirping call, like a bird. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>I hadn’t noticed it at first, but there were soft trills and churrs coming from behind the leaves. Rustling, and then an indigo colored banshee flew out, cawing and screeching as it landed next to it’s master. “Don’t look him in his eyes. This is-” “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ikran. Hunters ride them, yes?” </span>
  </em>
  <span> He nodded, smiling approvingly. “Very good. When you become </span>
  <em>
    <span>taronyu</span>
  </em>
  <span>, you will be able to choose your own...” He continued speaking, but I was inexplicably drawn to the animal. I’d studied them back on Earth and at base but being this close…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I felt myself moving towards it without realizing, not hearing Ku’hia’s warning tone as I held my hand out to the purple beast. He seemed to regard me in a curious manner, gently pressing his face against my hand with a deep rumble reverberating through his chest. His skin was smooth, like a snake back home. I avoided his eyes, though they were a bright yellow last I looked. ‘Like owner, like pet I suppose..’ He gave a soft screech as he pressed his head against my stomach unexpectedly. “Woah there.. Aren’t you a handsome devil..?” I said softly, laughing at how affectionate he was. “What’s his name..?” I asked, looking at Ku’hia.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His incredulous expression made me laugh a bit, the banshee lifted it’s head, shrieking at his master as if to shake him from his shock. “Oh-! Yes, his name is Leso’ha.” I nodded appreciatively. “He seems to be an enthusiastic boy. Is he usually this friendly?” Ku’hia shook his head, still surprised at his flying companion’s eagerness to be pet. “You don’t love on him enough huh?” I said with a laugh, giving Leso’ha a gentle scratch on the head. “I did not expect you to make it that close to him.” “I told you I had a way with animals back home.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pondered that as Leso’ha sniffed the pouch hanging off my hip, gently nipping at it. “Oh so you want a snack huh?” I laughed as I pulled out the dried yerik I had saved for today. “You want it?” The banshee’s eyes were trained on it, making clacking noises as it repeatedly opened and closed its mouth in anticipation. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Sit.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>I commanded, and he promptly sat back on his haunches. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Good boy.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> I tossed it towards the beast, and he caught it midair, happily munching on the dried meat with a satisfied purr. “Heaven, come with me.” Ku’hia said suddenly, giving another bird-like signal to Leso’ha, and the banshee screeched indignantly as he gave me another nudge of his head. “I’ll come visit you if Ku’hia lets me. Don’t worry.” He chirped, and flew back into his resting spot, Ku’hia took my hand, leading me back down the stairs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have you been close to a </span>
  <em>
    <span>pa’li</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” “A direhorse? Not yet.” “Good.” We approached a group of them, grazing in an open field near Hometree. Ku’hia called to one, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Lawr, come.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> A slightly green-ish blue direhorse walked up, nuzzling Ku’hia’s face with its tapered nose. “Melody huh?” I asked, Ku’hia nodded, petting her head. “She’s beautiful.” I pet her nose, her nickering brought a smile to my face. “She is a patient </span>
  <em>
    <span>pa’li</span>
  </em>
  <span>. You will learn to ride her, then when you are ready, I will teach you how to catch your chosen </span>
  <em>
    <span>ikran</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” I nodded, and he continued, pulling his long queue over his shoulder, showing me the wriggling nerve endings. “You know how to make </span>
  <em>
    <span>tsaheylu</span>
  </em>
  <span>, yes?” I shrugged, a bit uncertain. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean.. I know what it’s used for, but I’m not entirely sure how the process works, I mean-” “Just hold it out to her.” He instructed, laughing slightly. I did as he asked, pulling my queue over my shoulder and holding the end up to her. Lawr’s own antenna reached out and attached to the end of my queue, interlocking with the nerves. Suddenly, I felt her presence. Not like I had before, she was there in front of me, but I could.. Feel her in my headspace.. Almost hear her. She didn’t speak, but I could feel how she was feeling, what she wanted, needed. She seemed to want to let me know I could trust her. I could tell she knew what I felt too, though I couldn’t find the words to describe it, it was.. Unbelievable.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-.. I never..” Tears came from my eyes. Never in my life did I think I would experience anything close to this. I quickly wiped them away, stuttering, “I-I didn’t think it-it’d be like thi-this.. I.. I.. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I See you, Lawr.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” I said to the direhorse, and she bowed her head slightly, nudging my hands. She wanted me to try and get on her. I smiled, thankful for the very brief horse riding lessons my parents had given me. However, no saddle, no stirrups. “There’s a first for everything.” I mumbled to myself as I tried to figure out how to go about the process. Luckily for me, the Na’vi’s seemingly obscene height difference to humans made it easier to reach over, gently grab a hold of her side and lift myself on top of her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I straddled her back, slowly trying to get into a comfortable position. Once I felt okay I grabbed her antenna, and just thought of going slowly, and she followed. She made a slow circle around Ku’hia, my smile got a bit bigger as I coaxed her into a brisk canter. She did as I asked, picking up her pace. I heard myself laugh with glee, and she ‘told’ me she wanted to go faster. I grinned, gripping her antennas, “Go for it.” She took off like a bullet, faster than I thought she could go. I whooped with surprise and elation as we tore through the forest, past streams, herds of yerik and angtsìk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>We rode on and on till we returned to Ku’hia, his smile and laughter brought a grin to my face. “She’s faster than I thought.” “I would have told you-if you hadn’t taken off so quickly.” I got sheepish, scratching my head. “Well.. She wanted to go for a ride, who was I to deny her that?” He laughed again, beckoning me back to him. After a few more circles around him for his satisfaction, we had to bid Lawr goodbye, heading back to Hometree for a bow and some arrows. We were going hunting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>______________</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Triumphantly, I walked into Hometree, a yerik slung over Ku’hia’s shoulders. Loran and some of her friends squealed in delight. “Did you get that?” She asked, and I nodded, “Shot it and everything.” Ku’hia appeared at my side, seemingly passing off our bounty to others. “You did well. But it’ll take more than one yerik to become </span>
  <em>
    <span>taronyu</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” I smiled up at him, gently elbowing him in his side. “I’ll do what it takes to get there and you know it.” He smiled back and sighed, wiping at his forehead. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“It was hot out in the forest, was it not?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> I nodded, “Yeah it was pretty muggy. I could do with a swim. What d’you say hot stuff?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He grinned at my proposition, and we said goodbye to the little ones, though they had run off already. When we came upon the stream by the Tree of Voices, we were panting. “You know, not every time we go somewhere it has to be a race.” He said, bent over and huffing with a smile, to which I replied, “Yeah, but I also get to beat you at it every time so.” He rolled his eyes as I laughed, and before I could say anything he took off his loincloth, tossing it to the side. My eyes found his as my mouth gaped and my cheeks turned navy. He laughed at my fish impression when I couldn’t find the words. His mischievous yellow eyes seemed to smirk at my feeble attempt at avoiding his.. Nether regions. “For once, I have left you speechless without having to say a word.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>I rolled my eyes as I tried not to smile, turning away from him. “You know, it’s not normal for a guy to strip in front of a girl he hardly knows.” I could hear the laughter in his voice, “We’re mostly naked all the time, anyway. Would you prefer I put it back on-” “No! I mean.. It’s fine I just.. Wasn’t mentally prepared.” He chuckled, and I heard him dive into the stream. I quickly stripped, and dove in after him. I came up, sighing in relief at the cool water taking the edge off the blazing heat of Pandora’s sun. I looked over seeing Ku’hia’s grin, and the thought of our situation in any other circumstance brought the heat back to my cheeks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you mind if I wash my hair?” I asked, trying to break the pregnant silence. He shook his head, going over to that fruit tree around the bend. As he picked the bright orange fruit, I undid my braids, running my hands through my loose strands as I dipped beneath the surface. I sat on the riverbed, hearing the water rush by me. I felt calm. I felt good. I felt Ku’hia’s tail flit past mine, so I came up and saw his stupefied expression. “What? Never seen a girl with her hair down?” I smiled as I took the fruit from his hands, squishing it and lathering it into my scalp. I sighed in relief, my poor hair hadn’t had a break in days.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let me..” He said, his hands gently and hesitantly replaced my own, massaging my scalp as he ran his hands through my hair. I felt a noise bubble up in my throat, not able to keep the quiet rumble to myself. Was I.. Purring? He chuckled, and slowly he lowered me down into the water. He sat on the riverbank, seemingly spending forever just washing my hair and sending me into a relaxing trance, coupled with the purring I couldn’t hope to stop at this point, I almost fell asleep. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tapped me on my shoulder, waking me from my semi-slumber. “Hm..?” I looked up at him, his tender smile made my heart flutter. “Would you like me to continue?” I shook my head, a shy grin on my face. “No that’s alright, you’ve embarrassed me enough as it is. However, I’d be happy to return the favor..?” His brows rose in surprise, and he nodded. I grinned, slipping into the water and rinsing out the soap. As I came up, I saw him slightly fighting to undo his braids. Unlike the other male members of his clan, he seemed to struggle with doing his hair, which was long, and from what I could see, it was wavy and kinky. I giggled seeing him hit a snag and I swam over. “Let me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He smiled sheepishly as we traded places. “I am not skilled with my hair, it comes as a bit of a hindrance to me.” I hummed in understanding, expertly undoing each braid I came across. “If it makes you feel better, I wasn’t so good at doing my hair either.” “Really?” He asked, “You seem to do just fine to me.” I laughed a bit, finishing the last section of braids on his head. “That’s because practice makes perfect.” He had more hair than me, it was mesmerizing. I ran my fingers through it, soft and thick despite not having been washed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He dove under, leaving me to wonder. ‘I know I’m out here just by accident.. And that I truly could never be one of them.. But.. This is.. Really nice.’ He came up and seeing the water run off of him, his hair glistening like that under the sun.. ‘Whew.. I’m gonna have to extend my stay somehow.’ He came over, sitting down and I squeezed the fruit over his hair, beginning to wash it thoroughly. I could hear a quiet groan come out of him, making me smirk with delight. Soon he was purring as well, and the two of us descended into an amicable, calm silence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Quickly it got dark, and I tapped his shoulder only to find he passed out. I laughed a bit, going back to running my hands through his hair, massaging his scalp, making sure I got every inch. He mumbled something in his sleep, making me lean closer to hear him.. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Heaven… Please.. Do not.. Leave me..”</span>
  </em>
  <span> I blushed, wondering what could’ve been going through his head. Suddenly he woke up with a gasp, “Heaven!” He whipped around and un(fortunately) I was too close and he caught my lips with his. I was frozen in place, locked lips and shocked expressions, ‘My first kiss..’ I backed up, “I-I’m sorry you fell asleep, and I didn’t want to wake you and it seemed like you were having a nightmare and-” He held his hands up, stopping me in my rant.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is alright.. I’m sorry I hadn’t meant to kiss you.. I hope you can forgive me.” I nodded, looking away shyly. ‘His lips were so soft..’ I heard him come up from rinsing his hair out, shaking as much water out of it as he can before sitting back down. I came back to my spot, braiding his hair as quickly as I could. When I finished I had given him cornrows, “I’ll string beads on the end when we get back..” I said as I slid back into the water, working with my hair after it’s dried isn’t the best idea. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>While I braided my hair, we sat in silence. Occasionally I would look at him, only for him to look up at me at the same time, making us both turn away from each other's gaze. But I couldn’t stay quiet. “Your nightmare.. Do you.. Maybe.. wanna talk about it..?” He shook his head, “No I… It is okay.. It is a dream I have often.. It was just.. Different this time..” I nodded. “I hope it doesn’t come true then..” He nodded as well, “Yes.. I hope not..” Soon I was done, and used one braid to tie it into a ponytail. And with that we walked in silence back to Hometree.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>However, upon returning, Mevaüt happened to be waiting for us. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“And where have you been?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>He sneered, Ku’hia’s previously calm demeanor turned sour. “What do you want Mevaüt?” The Na’vi man in question growled at Ku’hia, and I decided maybe to take my leave. I patted Ku’hia’s arm to get his attention, his angered expression turned soft in my direction. “I’ll see you at dinner..” He went to protest when I jogged off to the cooking fires, sitting next to Jake and Neytiri yet again. Neytiri looked up, giving me the typical greeting, Jake looked up from his food giving a wave before seeing my troubled expression.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s up with you?” I shook my head, “I don’t wanna talk about it.” Neytiri watched me, smiling softly as she passed some roasted veggies and yerik to me, “Your hair is very pretty Heaven.” I nodded my thanks, taking the food and picking at it, not feeling very hungry despite not having eaten in a while. I noticed Jake and Neytiri watching me however, so I ate in silence. “Where’s Ku’hia?” Jake asked. I shrugged, “Getting held up by Mevaüt I’m sure.” “Mevaüt?” He questioned, looking at Neytiri,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He is another hunter in the clan. He used to be friends with Tsu’tey, but now Ku’hia has taken his place.” She answered, Jake nodding in understanding. “He seems very adamant to convince Ku’hia to stop teaching me. Doesn’t want a demon like me hanging around him..” I muttered bitterly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“That is his problem, I happen to enjoy teaching you.” </span>
  </em>
  <span> I heard Ku’hia’s voice behind me, a small smile on his face as he sat down next to me. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“What did he want from you?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> I asked him, to which he shrugged. “The usual, ‘she’s a demon, leave her alone’ speech. Nothing I couldn’t handle.” We all nodded, Jake and Neytiri went to speak with each other, and I turned to look at my food. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>I could feel Ku’hia’s breath on my ear as he whispered, “Are you okay..?” I nodded, not trusting my voice to speak. “Good. I hope you know.. I really enjoyed spending time with you today.” I smiled, looking up at him. I saw his smile, tender and filled with warmth. “I enjoyed it too.” I whispered to him. And the rest of the night, we stayed there, arms touching as we exchanged whispers to each other, and laughs with Neytiri and Jake. Soon we all went to bed, and as I slid into my leaf, I caught Ku’hia’s gaze. Intense, never ending.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>We didn’t speak, but enough was said in that one look. I hoped he couldn’t see my blush through the darkness, but as I closed my eyes and drifted away, I couldn’t help but hope he saw it anyway. When I came to in the link chamber, all I could hear was yelling. When I went to open the lid, it was stuck. I beat on the inside, hoping someone would move whatever it was that was blocking my way. Soon the lid opened and I was greeted with Rylie’s face. “Sorry sis! I didn’t think you were coming out for another hour or so.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I waved it off, “It’s fine. I had a long day, and I needed a shower.” I got up, stretching a bit. Rylie laughed to herself, “A long day runnin’ after that hunk of a man I see.” I punched her in the shoulder, “Hush up! There’s nothin’ going on between him and I.” Jake’s link opened and he sighed as he hauled himself out. “Jake! Confirm my suspicions!” Rylie shouted, making Jake turn to her. “Suspicions?” “Heaven has a crush on Ku’hia I just know it.” He grinned and I groaned. “Don’t start please.” He started anyway however. “Somethin’ happened today between them. I don’t know what, but something clicked.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I looked away, going to the fridge. “I have no clue what you’re talking about.” I grabbed an apple and turned, only to have Rylie’s brown eyes staring me down. I cracked faster than I had hoped. “Ku’hiakissedmeonaccident!” I covered my mouth before I could say anymore Rylie squealed, “I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! He likes you! You like him! Get together and have some kids already, why don’t you?” Jake laughed, “So he finally did it huh?” I groaned at their expressions, planting my face squarely on the wall. “Guys, it was an accident okay? He apologized and said he hadn’t meant it anyway-!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>I stopped, backtracking as I looked over at Jake. “What do you mean, ‘finally’?” He looked away, innocent as a baby rat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I growled, going over to strangle him when Grace came in from the shower. “What’s this about an accident?” “Nothing!” We all said together. She looked at us, suspicious, but too tired to care. She shrugged, going over to her microscope. “Whatever. Just keep it down, Norm’s asleep already.” I hadn’t noticed his snoring but it was there. We all looked at each other, nodded and went on about our business.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Soon it was off to bed for real this time. I laid in my bunk, wishing I could see Polyphemus’ giant blue body roll across the sky. I sighed and closed my eyes. ‘Tomorrow’s a new day.’</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Whew it's been a sec for this one, sorry for the delay. I'm re-reading through all the chapters and I'm definitely gonna have to go back and edit some things, but all in good time. I'm gonna try to finish this first before trying to fix previous stuff lol hope y'all enjoy this lil filler chapter</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The next several weeks went by quicker than I had hoped. Ku’hia and I went back to our usual mannerisms; the smiles, the laughter, the amicable silences between lessons, the playfulness. But underneath all of that I could feel the tension. It was a slow roil of simmering water beneath the lid of a pot. I didn’t know how long it could keep up, this façade of teacher and student, of simply being friends. I enjoyed being in Ku’hia’s company, we told stories and jokes, we learned more about each other. He seemed to like hearing me talk about all the things I knew about Earth, even if he didn’t understand some of the things I talked about. I just.. Didn’t know how long it would last. And what would follow when my training was over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>One morning, while walking down the staircase to breakfast, I ran into someone trying to come up the stairs. We fell over with grunts, and I sat up only to see a Na’vi woman of about my age. She had her hair braided like Neytiri’s. However, she didn’t wear beads and feathers in her hair, and her eyes.. Her eyes were orange. I was caught in her gaze, they were so bright, like fire. She scrambled to pick herself up and hurry away, but I caught her hand gently as she tried to walk past me. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Excuse me, are you alright..?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> I asked her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She looked at me, went to say something, when Ku’hia called my name from across the cooking fires. She took that distraction and ran up the staircase, leaving me to wonder who that girl was. I walked over to Ku’hia, surprised to see Neytiri and my brother next to him. “You alright sis?” Jake asked, seeing my startled expression. “That girl I ran into.. She had orange eyes.” Jake’s eyes shot up, Neytiri and Ku’hia brows raised in slight surprise. “I thought that colors outside of yellow and green weren’t normal in Na’vi genes Céleste.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I shrugged at Jake’s observation. “They’re not. I happened to be an exception, and though this body is manmade “supposedly” without flaw, happy accidents happen. I thought Dr. Augustine would’ve known about her.” “She does not interact with the clan often. Normally, she’s with her </span>
  <em>
    <span>ikran</span>
  </em>
  <span> or her </span>
  <em>
    <span>pa’li.</span>
  </em>
  <span> I have not seen her in a while come to think of it.” Ku’hia noted. “What’s her name?” Jake asked. “Her name is </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ameye te Tsäklíiu Lerrí’ite</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Her grandfather is on the council of elders.” Answered Neytiri, as she tried to coax Jake into eating a strangely shaped yellow fruit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The clan talks about her huh..? That’s why she doesn’t stick around?” Neytiri shrugged, “They used to when we were younger. It wasn’t until her grandmother, another member on the council, died a little bit ago that the clan began to lessen the gossip. They’ve tried to talk with her, but the damage had been done by then.” “What about her parents?” Jake inquired, pushing the fruit away, much to Neytiri’s irritation. Ku’hia shook his head, “Her parents abandoned her, and went to live with a different clan.” My brows shot up, “Switching clans is a thing?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not normally. But orange eyes..” He trailed off with a shrug. Neytiri finished his sentence, “They left when we all were young, we don’t remember what they looked like or where they went. We just knew that one day they were here, the next day they were gone.” I sat with that information for a moment. It just didn’t sit right with me. I mean, I have blue eyes, and I’m treated just fine by the people I do know around here. ‘Granted they have an orange eyed person walking around so I guess blue isn’t too far of a stretch for them.’ Ku’hia looked at me, curiosity in his eyes. “Heaven..?” He asked softly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“..I wanna go talk to her.” I finally said, looking up with determination in my eyes. He looked pleasantly surprised by my proclamation, a small smile of approval stretching across his lips. “I think that is a wonderful idea Heaven.” I grinned at him, his affirmation of my new task made my heart swell. “You’ll find her on the other side of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Keutrel </span>
  </em>
  <span>by the </span>
  <em>
    <span>pa’li </span>
  </em>
  <span>herds. Either there or with her </span>
  <em>
    <span>ikran</span>
  </em>
  <span> somewhere in the canopy.” Neytiri smiled at me, a giggle bubbling up in me as I watched my brother devour the fruit she had tried to force feed him not 2 minutes beforehand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ku’hia made it known that he’d be hunting or spending time with Leso’ha, and I thanked him while snatching one of his roasted veggies and sprinted off to the canopy first. I made it to the top, she wasn’t there, though Leso’ha’s purple head poked out from behind the curtain of leaves he slept behind. I gave him a wave, a promise to come back and visit, and I ran off to the </span>
  <em>
    <span>pa’li</span>
  </em>
  <span> herds. When I approached I didn’t see anyone at first. I watched direhor-</span>
  <em>
    <span>pa’lis</span>
  </em>
  <span> graze, sticking their long hummingbird-esque faces into the equally long cone shaped plants that they fed from. Like honeysuckles, but a cyan-green color. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But just when I went to try the canopy again, I spotted a group of </span>
  <em>
    <span>pa’li</span>
  </em>
  <span> separate and there she was in the middle. She was sitting, a </span>
  <em>
    <span>pa’li’s </span>
  </em>
  <span>head on her lap as it laid next to her. She stroked and caressed the animal, humming a sweet melody to it, enchanting the gentle animals around her. I wanted to talk to her, but I didn’t want to disrupt her. I figured I had time, ‘Ku’hia’s out hunting and won’t be back for a while. Why not relax?’ I smiled to myself, silently climbing up a tree and laying myself across a branch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I closed my eyes as her song continued, enjoying the warm, dappled sunlight through the forest ceiling. I could’ve fallen asleep if I really tried, but she finished her song, spoke quietly to her </span>
  <em>
    <span>pa’li</span>
  </em>
  <span> and went to get up. I slowly got up and climbed down, making my presence known as I jogged towards her. Before I could call her name, a nicker sounded behind me and I turned to see Lawr, her intelligent eyes lit up at the sight of me. I smiled at her, giving her a hug around the neck as she licked her long tongue through my hair. “It’s good to see you too, I didn’t think you would be here.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I was so caught up in her, that I hadn’t thought about Ameye until I felt her eyes in my back. I turned and saw her standing up, wariness and slight fear in her eyes. “Wait, I don’t want to hurt you, please, I just want to talk.” I said. She stopped and looked back at me, uncertainty clear in the air. “I just.. I saw that you’re a bit different from the rest of the clan and.. Well.. I want you to know that no matter what the clan has said about you.. You’re not alone.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What good is that from an outsider? A dreamwalker? What weight should your words have over that of my clan?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> She made a good point, her voice was laced with anger and shame, face contorted with pain, her bright orange eyes were on fire, and I couldn’t fault her for it. I felt for her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Because just like you, I was different from the rest as well. I’ve lived through what you were living through. No matter what they say, you are and will always be above that.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Silence. Nothing but the wind passing through, and the soft noises of direhorses around us. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why..?” Ameye asked, her head bowed and her voice wavered. “Why do you tell me this? I do not know you. You do not know me. What do you gain from telling me this..?” … “I’m hoping to gain your friendship someday. If that’s alright with you.” She looked up, lip pouted and tears threatening to spill. “You want to be friends.. With me..?” I couldn’t help but smile softly at her. “I’d really like to be friends with you Ameye.” She huffed and sat there for a moment. She rubbed at her eyes, took a deep breath and said, “I am</span>
  <em>
    <span> Ameye te Tsäklíiu Lerrí’ite</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
  <em>
    <span>May Eywa smile upon our first meeting.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” I smiled, repeated the greeting, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I am Céleste Lacouronne Sully. May Eywa smile upon our first meeting.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> ‘First friendship? Initiated.’</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For a while we just talked. She was timid at first but after a couple questions and a story or two she opened up. She was funny, and kind. I could tell she had a big heart, closed off as she was. We talked all the way to the artisans area at Hometree. “I make pottery sometimes.” She said with a smile. “I haven’t thrown clay in a long time. Can I see some of your pieces?” She nodded, taking me to a small alcove somewhere along the central trunk of the tree.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She pulled out several pieces of plates and cups, jars and useful things for the clan to use. “We make these and keep them stored away for future use.” “Do you ever make sculptures?” Ameye’s head tilted as her clementine colored irises stared in confusion. “Sculptures?” I nodded, “Yeah.. Here I’ll make one for you.” She smiled, taking me to a big pile of clay. I scooped up a wet blob of it, sat down on a seat and placed it on a wheel. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not unlike the motorized potter’s wheels back on Earth, the Na’vi had something similar, with a foot pedal to keep the wheel spinning. Ameye brought me a small bowl of water, and I went to work. “It’s been a long time since I’ve thrown clay, so if it doesn’t look good it’s not my fault.” She laughed a little, and silence followed as I went to work. Every so often I’d ask her for sharp or dull tools, shaping and carving at the clay to get some of the finer details to shine. When I had finished, I had a decent looking statue of Neytiri, her closed eyes and face was peaceful and gave her a look of meditation as she sat cross legged on the pedestal.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ameye gasped as she took it in. “It looks.. It looks just like her.” I crossed my arms, proud of my work. “I might’ve been out of practice, but I’ve still got the touch.” I made a finger gun, pretended to shoot the statue and blew the tip, grinning with pride as my new friend marveled at my work. At that moment other potters began noticing, having heard Ameye’s gasp, coming over to admire my finished piece. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“The dreamwalker made that.” “It looks just like Neytiri!” “You think she could make one for me?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> They bombarded me with questions, how long did it take me to learn this technique? Was I a master craftswoman of the Sky People? Could I make more? What other things could I make?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I answered all the questions I could, until the crowd parted and the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Olo’eyktan</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Eytukan, came and regarded me, curiosity in his eyes. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I hear you are a master craftswoman. You have replicated my daughter?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> I nodded, moving out of the way so he could look at the miniature Neytiri I had made. He walked over, observing it. He was silent for a moment, before he turned to me, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Could you make one of me and Mo’at?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> I laughed and told him I could, amusement danced in his eyes and a satisfied smile on his lips was not a frequent expression, and brought happiness into my heart. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Next thing I knew I was turned around, Neytiri’s hand on my shoulder. She was panting slightly, a bit flustered and curious. “What is this about a smaller me?” I moved out of her way, and she gazed upon the statue. “You.. You made this?” She asked. I nodded. “I was showing Ameye how a sculpture is made. I needed a beautiful subject for an example, haha. I don’t think I captured all of your essence into it, but I like to think I did pretty decently. It’s been a long time since I made stuff out of clay though so if you don’t like it I understan-” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She cut me off, hugging me as tight as she could without killing me. I was, to say the least, baffled at such a show of affection. Eytukan looked pretty surprised as well. Neytiri’s bright yellow eyes looked at me with such excitement and admiration, I was speechless. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Irayo, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Heaven. Thank you so much.” “If you like it that much you can keep it.” I said, a soft smile on my face as she couldn’t help but stare at the statue lovingly. Ameye came to my side, whispering in my ear, “I have not seen her like this since Sylawin was alive.” I looked at her surprised, knowing how painful the loss of her older sister had been to the clan princess, the incident being a still-fresh wound on the princess’ heart. I figured the sisters were close and I couldn’t help but feel a little better as Ameye nodded, affirming her statement. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eytukan came over, a hand on my shoulder. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Good job.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> I smiled proudly at his words, before getting swamped by all the people who wanted more art from me. By the time I got done, I knew I’d have to ask Ku’hia for some free time to get it all done. Soon though, Ameye went to go hunt, and I bade her goodbye. She promised to see me at dinner, and that she would do her best to make conversation with everyone. As I wandered off, looking for things to do, Jake and to my surprise, Ku’hia were walking in from the other side of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Keutrel</span>
  </em>
  <span>. They seemed to be deep in conversation, until Jake spotted me and waved.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I met them both halfway, Jake’s grin turned inquisitive, as he saw the dried clay on my hands. “What were you getting into while we were gone sis?” “I made a career out of those ceramics classes I took in high school.” Ku’hia cut in, “You are an artisan?” I hummed, “Art is one of the many things I consider sacred, I practiced them often when I had the time.” Jake elbowed Ku’hia good-naturedly. “She can draw, act and sing, she can do almost anything really.” I shrugged, a bit bashful. “Aw quit it bro..”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Neytiri came over, seemingly still enamored by the “mini me” I had made. She noticed Jake and became stern again however, delegating what they’d be doing for the rest of the day; language lessons. Jake groaned, “My tail’s gonna get sore if I sit through this.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>“If you wish to become part of the People then you will sit until your tail goes numb.” </span>
  </em>
  <span> Neytiri retorted, gently but firmly pulling Jake away by his queue as he struggled against her like a child.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I laughed at his misery, waving at him as he reached toward me in an attempt to get me to save him. “Have fun Jacob! Make sure you take notes during class!” I called after the pair, enjoying the sight of a woman putting my brother in his place. “Does he truly not like to learn?” My mentor asked, his beautiful sunflower eyes staring at the retreating figures of Neytiri and Jake. “Eh, he can learn when he wants to. It just takes him a while to enjoy it. Depending on the subject at least.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I chuckled at the thought, before turning to Ku’hia, asking if we could pay a visit to his flying companion. He agreed with a smile, and we spent the rest of the day caressing Leso’ha (much to his delight) and talking. I told him about Ameye, the sculpture and my newfound job in ceramics in detail. “You’ll have to give me time off from training, people want art, and who am I to deny the public?” I said with a haughty smirk. He chuckled, handing Leso’ha yet another piece of yerik.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I will think about it. Even so, the clan will have to wait for your art. I have been tasked with your journey to be one of the People, and I will see to it that it is done correctly. No matter how long it takes.” I smiled at him, his dazzlingly bright grin made my heart stop. “Yeah yeah, I hear you teach. I’ll be the best </span>
  <em>
    <span>taronyu</span>
  </em>
  <span> you’ll ever see.” “Better than Tsu’tey?” I playfully growled, “Even better.” “Better than Neytiri?” He continued, his grin growing mischievous. I crossed my arms with a huff. “She’ll eat my dust.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Even better than Mevaüt?” I turned to him, a very indignant ‘really?’ look on my face. “You’re kidding me, right?” He chuckled, thinking again, “Better than Ameye?” I was caught off guard, Ameye of all people? “Really?” He nodded, “Ameye is the best hunter in the clan. Tsu’tey, and Neytiri and Mevaüt are few of the best. Ameye?.. Well, she doesn’t spend her alone time doing nothing.” I hummed, in understanding. It made sense. Ameye spent a lot of time by herself. And clan life demands that one is always doing something to contribute to the clan’s well being.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Heaven..” Ku’hia started, scratching his cheek with his index finger the way he did when he got nervous. “Yes </span>
  <em>
    <span>karyu</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” I replied, looking up from scratching his </span>
  <em>
    <span>ikran’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> neck. “Do you.. Miss life on your world..?” My brows raised, my jaw dropped open slightly from the unexpectedness. “From what I know and understand.. Your world is much more than ours.. You have machines that fly and that do all manner of things for you.. We are.. How did Grace say it..? Primitive.. We are more primitive than the Sky People.. Do you ever miss it..?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I stood there for a moment.. I wasn’t sure what to say. He looked at me with such an intense look in his eye, like the look he had when we met. Searching. Curious. Wondering. Wary. At the time I wasn’t sure why, but the thought of him thinking I missed that shithole of a planet.. “What made you think that Ku’hia..?” I asked him, voice soft and eyes confused. Ku’hia looked away for a moment, he contemplated something, mulled it over in his mind like he wasn’t sure if he should continue.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“At night, when we go to sleep and you-.. You sleep before I do.. When you ‘wake up’ in your Sky Person body.. I wonder if you get tired of it.. Going back and coming here again.. If you miss just having to be a Sky Person.” He gazed at me, saddened. Ears and tail slightly drooping, but his expression altogether passive. I was always amazed by how expressive the Na’vi were. They were a very physically expressive people, something the human race had forgotten over the years of loss and all-round decline. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I sighed and looked down at the sea of treetops; with the forest that began to glow below us, the sky darkening above, Polyphemus’ visage stretching across the horizon, the other two moons shadowing its face.. Leso’ha nuzzled my cheek, a soft rumble in his chest as he gently nipped at my hair.. I turned to look at Ku’hia, his lithe cyan and aqua banded figure against the dark background, his beautifully handsome features and breathtakingly yellow eyes, pools of seemingly endless emotion, uninhibited and so genuine..</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I won’t lie to you.. It is tiresome.” I told him simply, a slight shrug and a bittersweet smile as I thought about the years I spent just trying to come here. “And of course I truly don’t sleep well in the grand scope of it all.. It doesn’t help that nightmares aren’t picky with their victims..” I chuckled humorlessly. “But every morning when I get up, and I get ready to ‘wake up’ here and start my day of learning with you and being a part of the clan, and learning how to contribute to it.. I enjoy that more than anything..” I looked at Leso’ha, catching a glimpse of his lemon colored eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve told you before, humans.. Sky People haven’t taken care of their home like the Na’vi have, that’s why they’ve come here.. They lost the ability to connect with their Mother long before Jake and I were born.. And there’s so many Sky People, and the planet cannot sustain so much life.. The balance is tipped too far.. Mother Earth is dying.. And I’ve lost more on that planet than I gained.. And I gained so much just by coming here.. I never dreamed I’d get to be among the People.. To live </span>
  <b>with</b>
  <span> the People, to </span>
  <b>learn</b>
  <span> to </span>
  <b>be</b>
  <span> a </span>
  <em>
    <span>taronyu</span>
  </em>
  <span> of the People.. I appreciate it more than you know.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I looked at Ku’hia again, his expression soft, tender. “So yes, I do get tired. The back and forth is difficult on me in body and mind. However, it is a price I was willing to pay, and will continue to pay. All of this,” I said motioning to the world around us. “Is so priceless-so important to me. In a way you’ll never know.” I sighed, having finished my tirade and awaiting his response. He was looking down however, his long beaded and feathered braids hid his face from my view.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was silent for a minute, it worried me to think that maybe my words would never be enough for him, that I’d have to work even harder at my training then before. But then he looked up, lips curved in a warm smile. “Thank you.” He said. I shook my head, confused, “What are you thanking me for?” He shrugged, “For proving my point.” I chuckled, “What point Ku’hia?” He came over, petting Leso’ha on his beak before turning to me.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That you aren’t like the others. This I am thankful for. You will be able to See sooner than you know.” I started grinning unabashedly, relieved that he took my words to heart. He wrapped his arms around me in a big bear hug, picking me up off the branch and twirling me around, much to my slight terror. I laughed however, “Hey now, don’t go dropping me after my speech. Are you trying to make me a splat on the forest floor too?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He laughed, putting me down and fixing the braids that had fallen in my face. “My apologies. I was a bit excited.” I shook my head with a smile, dismissing his behavior with a wave. All of a sudden, a voice called out, “Hey you two, soup’s on!” I turned, seeing Jake bent over, panting like he ran all the way up there. “Also,” He continued, catching his breath, “Tsu’tey and Mevaüt are pickin on Ameye, Heaven, I suggest you get down there.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I took one horrified look at Ku’hia, and I took off down the staircase. ‘Not Ameye, why now?’ I made it to the bottom, and there they were; Mevaüt and Tsu’tey, sneering and laughing at Ameye’s expense. It made my blood boil. I marched over, calling to the trio, “Hey!” They all looked up, Ameye looked relieved, the two men looked peeved. Ameye came over to me and gave me a hug as  hugged her back, “I’m sorry, were you waiting long?” She shook her head, “I had only just come back from the </span>
  <em>
    <span>pa’li</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I sat down and they appeared out of nowhere.”</span>
  <span></span>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I ‘mhm’ed, sizing up the pair as they walked over. “Let’s see if we can get them to disappear the same way they came yeah?” I whispered to her, a mischievous grin on my face. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Well, the two outsiders have found each other. How nice.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Mevaüt’s voice made me grind my teeth, goddess he was annoying. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Do not insult Ameye like that, at least she was born a part of the People. The same cannot be said for the dreamwalker.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Tsu’tey joined in, his pale yellow eyes made me want to deck him in the mouth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They continued their verbal assault, “she’s a demon, she doesn’t belong here” type shit. Like I hadn’t heard it all before. They finished after a couple minutes, looking at me for any indication of breaking to their taunting. I smiled warmly at them, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Boys, boys, surely you have something better to do, than to terrorize my friend Ameye? I would think that two of the best hunters of the Omaticaya would be above such petty and futile words.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Mevaüt and Tsu’tey looked at each other, confused and flustered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>I could hear Ku’hia and my brother coming down the stairs, and decided to move this show along. </span><em><span>“I am certain that if you think hard enough, you will know the answer. If you would be so kind as to leave me, my teacher, my brother, and my friend alone, I would be ever so grateful. We only wish to peacefully be a part of the clan, and that’s not too much to ask for, right?”</span></em> <em><span>“Maybe not for Ameye, but for a demon like you that is asking too much.” </span></em><span>Mevaüt cut in, an accusatory look in his eye.</span></p><p> </p><p><em><span>“I am well aware. Everyday that I am allowed to be here, with every moment I spend learning more and more about the People.. It makes me happy. Happier than you could ever imagine.”</span></em><span> I looked them both square in the eyes, challenging them to contradict me. “And even so, you may not be happy with my brother and I staying here, but it was the decision of the </span><em><span>Tsahik </span></em><b>and</b> <em><span>Olo’eytan</span></em><span>, not you. Got it?” I gave them another smile. Tsu’tey went to say something, when Ku’hia and Jake came up from behind us, menacingly protective over the two of us.</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fellas, I think it’s about time you go enjoy your dinner elsewhere.” Jake said, Ku’hia nodding slowly, “Yes, we would hate to disturb the others should you continue.” The boys had a stare off, and just when it couldn’t get any better, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Tsu’tey! Just what do you think you are doing?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> From seemingly nowhere, Neytiri appeared, walking towards us with Mo’at on her tail. “Ooooo y’all in trouble now.” I said, a slight grin on my lips.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tsu’tey and Mevaüt, to their credit, were quite steadfast and passive despite how stiffly their tails hung behind them. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I hope you are playing nicely with these two young women, Mevaüt, Tsu’tey.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Mo’at’s stern expression was not one to make light of, as she pointedly stared at the both of them. The two men tried to say something, but the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tsahik</span>
  </em>
  <span> wasn’t having it. Mo’at made a ‘shoo shoo’ motion with her hand, and just like that they ghosted away, muttering to each other before separating, mingling with different crowds.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I placed a hand on my hip, scowling after them before turning to Ameye, making sure she was alright. “I thought they weren’t friends.” Jake asked Neytiri, who was staring after the pair. “I have seen them hunting together recently..” I looked over at Jake, and he returned the glance. Jake had let me know that Tsu’tey was quite adept at bothering him during lessons, reminding him of his alien-ess amongst the People. ‘Team up?’ “You don’t think..?” I started, to which he shrugged, “I don’t know.. But one thing that seems to be a universal tactic, ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’.” I nodded, that seemed to be the case here.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mo’at scoffed, “Feh! Let them be. Go eat and get some rest. Enjoy your evening.” She bade us goodbye, and wandered off to Eytukan’s side. The rest of us sat down around a fire, passing food and the fermented </span>
  <em>
    <span>ki’ong</span>
  </em>
  <span> drink in between us and chatting. Neytiri and Ameye got close, talking to each other animatedly about the jewelry maker's newest collection. Seemed to be quite the buzz amongst the young women. Jake was stuffing his face, and when I questioned him he mumbled something behind his food filled mouth and continued eating.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ku’hia and I spoke softly to one another, ‘How was your day, </span>
  <em>
    <span>numeyu</span>
  </em>
  <span>?’ ‘You were with me for most of it </span>
  <em>
    <span>karyu</span>
  </em>
  <span>.’ ‘This is true, but I want to know what you thought of it now that it is over.’ We talked and chuckled until a few women my age walked up, asking for Ku’hia. He looked at me apologetically, “Excuse me for a moment.” He got up, much to my dismay, and went with them, walking further away.. Neytiri sighed as she witnessed it, “They never give up do they..?” She asked Ameye, who sympathetically shook her head as she clicked her tongue.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You should have seen the way they cornered him when he came back from hunting a few days ago. Swarmed him with gifts.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Neytiri sucked at her teeth, laughing a bit, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“His ceremony was moons ago! You would think they would give up by now.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> They gossiped like old ladies, it almost made me envious that they knew something I didn’t. “Is Ku’hia that popular with the women?” Ameye looked up from their giggles, seeing my confusion, she proceeded to explain.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “Ku’hia has been sought after by many young women in the clan. Even before he became </span>
  <em>
    <span>taronyu</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He hasn’t rejected them, Eywa bless his kind heart, but he has not shown interest in any of them, in any woman for that matter.” Neytiri nodded, plucking some yerik from one of the leaf plates. “We cannot tell you how many girls have gone to him and been turned away. But Tsu’tey told me that he asked him why he does not choose a mate.” She chewed the morsel, drawing out the already agonizingly painful suspense.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tsu’tey said that Ku’hia refuses to choose between them and the women of the clan because-” “Heaven!” I turned, the handsome devil himself was jogging back to his spot, to my even more crushing dismay. ‘The tea was ‘bout to be spilled. I’m so upset.’ I groaned internally, smiling as he sat down. “Everything okay?” He nodded, sipping his drink and groaning a bit, “Just taking care of things.” I nodded, “You’re quite the ladies man I hear.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He chuckled, “Not me, no, I just happen to look good.” I looked at him, making a ‘oh really?’ face as I started chuckling. “And I’m the Queen of Sheba.” His face scrunched up, “I thought you were not a royal?” I rolled my eyes as he laughed, my elbow gently finding his side as I sipped on my own liquor. We talked and laughed that whole night. And when we finally bade Neytiri and Jake goodnight, (I told him to not jump in the shower first if he got out earlier than me,) and began settling into our leaves for the night.</span>
</p><p> </p><p><em><span>“Did you have a good night?” </span></em><span>He asked softly. I hummed, </span><em><span>“A very good night.”</span></em> <em><span>“Very good?” “Mhhm. A night to remember.” </span></em><span>He smiled, his bioluminescent dots glowed brightly. </span><em><span>“I hope you have an even better day tomorrow.” “You too, teacher.”</span></em><span> I smiled at him, “Goodnight.” I whispered. “Sweet dreams Heaven.” And when he nodded off, I looked around. Seeing the tens of people laying in their hammocks above and below me, sleeping soundly. I smiled sadly to myself. I had.. The strangest feeling as I sat there, cherishing that moment. The peace. The tranquility. In all reality.. I wasn’t sure how long the peace would last.</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When I woke up in the link chamber, opened up the lid and was staring into Rylie, Jake, Norm, AND Trudy’s face? I started closing the link again, “I’ve gotten off at the wrong station let me just-” Rylie and Trudy grabbed me, “No, no, no, no, no,” coming out of their mouths like parrots. “Jake said you and Na’vi man were drunk flirting at dinner.” I glared at him as he looked away, whistling. “I’m gonna gut you like a fish marine.” I snarled at him, Trudy interrupting, “Less threatening, more details.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I rolled my eyes as they stared at me, intent on keeping me there till I divulged the details. I looked at Norm, silently pleading for a voice of reason, but he threw his hands up in surrender, “I hate to sacrifice you to the wolves, but Jake came out before you, and the deal was struck.” I groaned. Goddess I needed sleep.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Numeyu-student</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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